Day One - 14th March

9.30am - Introduction from the Chairman Frédéric Van Houtte, MD, Selectour

Keynote Opening Address

9.40am The Future Of French Travel Distribution

• How has distribution evolved in recent years?
• Who are the key players? Who are the new entrants?
• What effect is increasing competition having on the French travel market?
• How is the market consolidating? Will the major distribution giants continue to dominate?
• How will the growth of online travel affect the future of the market?
• How do French consumers research travel online/offline? How much travel is bought online in France? How does this differ from other European countries?
• What is the future outlook for travel distribution in France? What are the key trends and predictions to watch? What are the potentially profitable niches?

10.00am - Keynote Session One - Presentations and panel discussion

Balancing Your Distribution Channels - How Are The Distribution Channels Evolving?

In the US & UK, the internet revolution in travel distribution has firmly taken a hold. Internet sales have soared and travel suppliers are no longer dependent on the traditional offline distribution giants. An increase in direct sales through travel suppliers' own websites is now having a serious effect not only on the traditional agency model but also the online intermediary. This session will look at the situation in France and analyse how the key distribution channels in France are evolving.

• In terms of distribution partners who are your friends and who are your enemies?
• Should you aim for a focussed consumer centric strategy or simply the broadest distribution network possible?
• How much travel is sold via the traditional GDS'? Who are the GNEs and what are their plans?
• What impact will the latest trend for tour operators to sell their product directly have on French travel distribution?
• How is the internet revolutionising travel distribution? What impact is it having on the traditional distribution model?
• To what extent are intermediaries competing with suppliers (in particular hotel, airline, car hire, cruise) websites for direct sales?
• What does the future hold for the traditional intermediaries?
• What added value can online travel agents offer their supplier partners?
• Which OTA model works best for the supplier aiming to sell online? The online travel agent commission based model or the merchant model of the OTA giants?

Accor, Ghislain D'Auvigny, VP Distribution & Sales

Go Voyages, Nicolas Brumelot, General Manager

Nouvelles Frontières, Sebastien Bouillet, Multimedia Director

Boscolo Hotels, Giorgio Boscolo, CEO

12pm - Networking Lunch break

1.30pm - Session Two - Presentations and panel discussion

Next Generation Sales & Marketing Techniques - Innovative Ways To Sell More Travel & Engage Your Customer

• Online marketing and offline marketing - how should you allocate your marketing spend?
• France has one of the highest usage of blogs in Europe relative to its population size. How can blogs, communities, reviews etc. be used to sell more travel? How can you monitor what has been written about your travel product on 3rd party websites?
• Many travel websites feature photos, videos and virtual tours but what is the real value gained from adding rich media to your web content? Do such features really increase conversion rates?
• How much are RSS feeds, AJAX, Travel 2.0 techniques changing the relationship between the brands and the consumer? How can consumers interact with your brand?
• Affiliate marketing is a very effective way of widening the distribution of your product and driving traffic to your website .Selecting the right affiliate partners is vital to driving quality traffic to your site and increasing conversion rates. What are the benefits and pitfalls of affiliate marketing? How do you assess which affiliate partners would be right for your company?

Voyages-Sncf.com, Christophe Leon , Directeur Marketing

Ski Horizon, Sergio Branco, CMO

Hotels.com, Loic DuPont, Directeur of Operations EMEA

Opodo, Petra Friedmann, Head of France

Google, Enrique Nalda, Head of Travel, France

3pm - Networking Coffee Break

3.30pm - Session Three - Presentations and panel discussion

Understanding And Engaging With Your Consumers

• Understand the purchasing habits of French consumers. What factors influence their purchasing decision?
• Does your product really meet the needs of your consumer? Is it the right price?
• How do you encourage consumer loyalty in a market being flooded with choice? Do loyalty programmes really work? How do you measure their ROI?
• How does the end user interact with your website? How can you ensure your website is designed to convert lookers to bookers and not lose customers on the way? What innovative ways are available for to communicate with your online customers and build loyalty?
• Sales support - what value do call centres add and how should they be run?

Expedia, Alex Zivoder, VP France

Costa Crosieres, Daniele  Mancini, E-commerce Director

Vinivi.com, Gilles Granger, MD

5pm - Networking Cocktail reception

Day Two - Thursday 15th March

9.00am - Keynote Session One - Presentations and panel discussion

Changes And Developments In French Air Travel

• Will government regulations be further relaxed to allow the French airline industry to open up to more competition?
• What are major airlines' plans for the future?
• With the popularity of Ryanair and Easyjet, and the opening of Marseille's new low cost hub, what impact is 'Low cost' having on the French travel industry? How are the established airlines retaliating?
• How prevalent is e-ticketing? What developments are occurring with regard to self-booking tools and self check-in services? What value do they add?
• How are airports accomodating the growth of both low cost and charter airlines?  What are the marketing techniques of the new entrants and how are the postioning themseleves in the travel distribution chain? (including airports, airlines and tour operators alike)

Easyjet, François Bacchetta, GMl – France & Benelux

Air Canada, François Choquette, GM, France

CCI Cote d'Azur, Roland Gallo, Head of www.plaisirdepartir.com

10.30 - Coffee Break

11.00am - Session Two - Presentations and panel discussion

Travel Search Optimisation - How Do You Ensure Your Customers Find You Before Your Competitors Online?

• Discover how to get the right balance of keyword advertising, SEO, travel search technology and PPC.
• PPC v's natural search - are more people moving away from PPC? Which is most cost effective?
• What cost effective methods are available to drive quality traffic to your site, increase conversions and compete with the larger companies?
• Is using 3rd party affiliate websites an effective way of driving traffic to your website without using costly search engines?
• How does the quality of the traffic driven from search comparison sites compare to that from the search engine giants?
• How can we avoid losing valuable travel consumers in the maze of travel intermediaries (both unscrupulous and trusted) available when searching via the search engine giants?
• What value do travel search comparison sites add? Do they drive enough sales to justify the high PPC costs incurred?
• How can you control the information search comparison sites display about your product?

Lastminute.com, Pierre Alzon, MD
Euro Relais, Dimitri Arts, E-commerce Director
Easyvoyages, Jean Pierre Nadir, MD
Location Vacances Express, Frederic Hernandez , CEO

Yahoo!/Kelkoo, Pascal Gauthier, Commercial Director Yahoo! Shopping, Cars and Travel (incl. Kelkoo) – France

2pm - Session Three - Presentations and panel discussion

Distribution Technology - What Cost Effective Solutions Are Available For You To Distribute More Travel At Lower Cost?

• Which technology should you invest in to suit your future distribution strategy?
• What technological developments in connectivity can help drive down costs for all types of travel companies. What is predicted for the future?
• What is the future of the GDS in France? What are the alternatives and which distribution technologies are most likely to bring you long term success?
• To what extent is XML promoting seamless interaction between tech-savvy travel companies? Is there enough standardisation in place for this to take off fully?
• What technology is needed to drive dynamic packaging? How are travel suppliers developing dynamic supplier packaging as a key business strategy to appeal to discerning clients looking for a one-stop intelligent shopping solution?
• How fast is mobile technology developing as a feasible distribution channel?

Runaworld, Christian Coulard, CEO

CET, René Mark Chikli, CEO

4pm - Session Four - Presentations and panel discussion

Identify The Key Distribution Trends And Developments In France's Hospitality Market

• How are the hotels consolidating in France? Which major chains will continue to dominate?
• Direct v's intermediary led distribution - what are the advantages of working with an intermediary? How are global hotels localising their strategies to sell more online?
• How can independent hoteliers compete with online travel agencies through using SEM techniques to ensure their product is found first online?
• Many tourism authorities are now selling hotel rooms on their websites without official approval from the SNAV. Is this trend likely to grow?
• How can advances in revenue management and demand-based pricing strategies help to maximise occupancy and profits?
• Is your pricing right? How do you ensure that you sell your product to the right customer at the highest possible price?

Euro Disney, Norbert Stiekema, VP Distribution & Sales

5pm - End of Day Two