French event planners on the Costa del Sol

Representatives of French companies specialising in meetings and incentives trips have recently been to the Costa del Sol in search for new event venues and activities. We showed them a wide range of products and services meeting their needs, including for the first time environment-friendly activities favouring sustainable development and social commitment in our travel destination.

This fam trip was organised by the Costa del Sol Tourist Board and The Planner, a leading Belgian marketing and communications agency, specialising in the MICE industry for France and the Benelux.

This is the first time we have organised a fam trip for French MICE travel agents. Our visitors hailed from Paris and Nice; they represented five agencies, always in the search for new destinations, activities, and experiences for their meetings, product presentations, and incentive trips.

In our province they paid inspection visits to hotels featuring meeting rooms and original event venues, took a tour of the old town in Marbella and Puerto Banús, attended a wine tasting session in Mijas, toured Málaga City, and watched a flamenco show, among other activities.

Some of the new experiences we suggested to them were Segway tours of Málaga City (Segway is an environment-friendly two-wheeled self-balancing vehicle) and reafforestation in Sierra de Mijas (an activity aimed at improving an area that was badly affected by forest fires a few years ago).

France is a complex market where travellers still see the Costa del Sol as a Sun & Sand destination. Therefore, marketing activities in which we can show French travel professionals products in other segments first hand (both in coastal areas and the hinterland) are extremely useful.