It’s not every day that I mention a professional but also a friend. I wanted, not to do a Q&A, but to write and repeat a certain number of themes that he likes. As a reminder, Patrice is the boss ofAlpitour France and therefore “Bravo Club”
The Vacation Club label
We can say that Patrice Caradec was a fervent defender of this label. It is obvious that both travel agents and customers should be better informed about the clubs sold by dozens of tour operators. You can find a link on Club Bravo which could be labeled “Guaranteed Quality Holiday Club”: https://www.bravoclub.com/nos-concepts/club-vacance-qualite-garantie
In 2017, several tour operators were ready to invest
Clubs Marmara and Lookea, Jet Tours and Jumbo, Kappa and Coralia as well as Framissima were at the initiative of the label “Club de Vacances Qualité Garantie”. Unfortunately, several tour operators did not wish to continue. The conditions for having this label were surely too high. That’s a shame. Today, the travel agent has few benchmarks to direct a customer to a real club. At the time, Olivier Kervella, CEO of NG Travel (Kappa, Coralia, Jet Tours) indicated: “Many hotels are called “hotel-clubs” but are not, and customers get lost in this swamp . The label makes it possible to redefine the concept and to reassure the customers but also the distributors”. Patrice Caradec also defended this line with conviction. For those who know him well, he has a direct and sincere tone.
Patrice Caradec: Only a few tour operators offer REAL clubs.
Many are surfing the wave of holiday clubs. It’s a huge market. Moreover, if the club corresponds well to the wishes of the customers, they can be loyal to the brand. This is surely the case of the “Bravo Club”.
Bravo Club Wins New Customers Using Orchestra’s Technology
Alpitour France is a subsidiary of the Alpitour group, a tourism giant in Italy. The company had started well in 2018, with 20,000 customers and 20 million euros in turnover? Alpitour France had evolved well in 2019 (31 million turnover and 30,000 customers). We will avoid talking about 2020 and 2021 which were catastrophic because of the Covid and unsuitable technology. In 2022, the tour operator has chosen Orchestra . A solution that has already been thoroughly tested by major networks such as Salaün, Selectour, Havas Voyages, CEDIV, Voyages Leclerc… and of course tour operators such as Solea, Top of Travel, Héliades…
Since November 2022, “sales have picked up very quickly and, since the start of 2023, we have been selling very strongly”, welcomed Patrice Caradec. The objective is to achieve 40 million turnover and 40,000 customers
Patrice Caradec is a true tourism professional
If we see, from time to time, senior executives from other industries, we can say that Patrice fell into tourism a long time ago. He went through Club Med, Pierre et Vacances. He met Gaël at Porte du Theil and got hired by Chorus. We met during this period. Chorus merged with Jet Tours. We then found our friend at the head of Transat France and Look Voyages. It was a success, so good that the Canadian company sold the business to the TUI group. It was during this sale that Patrice Caradec met the boss of the Alpitour group. It was off for a new adventure with Bravo Club.
The launch of a new Club brand
One of the well-known brands in Italy, Francorosso created the SeaClubs. Refined resorts exclusively in 4 or 5 stars. These clubs are located at the edge of magnificent beaches. A sharp but discreet entertainment program. There is a high quality restaurant. In short, it is finally about top-of-the-range clubs.
We wish a great year 2023 to Alpitour France and Patrice Caradec
