For the first time in many years,Maison de la France is organising aseries of road shows for travel agents who want to get to grips with selling France.

The world`s most visited destination has a reputation for being a daunting country to sell, due in part to its size, diversity, the number of ways of getting there and the range of accommodation on offer, and the road shows
aim to increase agents` confidence when it comes to talking about holidaying there.

According to Jane Dawkins, Head of Trade and Exhibitions at Maison de la France: Research indicates that the majority of people still visit their local travel agent when deciding where to go on holiday and this confirms the importance of working as closely as possible with travel agencies. Bookings to France through the trade currently only account for about 35% of our visitors so there is plenty of scope for growth.

She added: We haven`t always paid enough attention to travel agents and the road shows are an attempt to develop their product knowledge and make them aware of the different possibilities that France has to offer, from family camping holidays to weekend skiing and upmarket city breaks.

Organised in conjunction with Rail Europe, Disneyland Resort Paris and key tour operators including French Life and Cresta, as well as several of the French regional tourist boards, the road shows will take place from 14 – 16 October in Leicester, Manchester and Edinburgh.

The road shows are limited to 120 agents per evening and, for further details, agents should contact the hotline number: 0870 752 3434.