What is an "Incoming agent"

France à la carte is officially an 'incoming' or 'inbound' travel agent. A lot of people are confused about this and ask exactly what it is that we do ... and what we are allowed to do.

Most travel agents are 'outbound'; that is, they send their customers out of the country on holidays abroad.
An 'inbound' or 'incoming' agent, on the other hand, welcomes customers from abroad, providing them with services in the country where they're based. Traditionally, incoming agents have worked in the background, providing services to 'outbound' agents on a purely wholesale basis. When your local High street travel agent sells you a package in the Maldives or Bermudas, he's usually relying on an incoming agent over there on the islands. The outbound agent arranges flights and payment; the incoming agent provides accommodation, activities and transfers on site.

As far as long-haul destinations are concerned, this schema still works. But the arrival of low-cost short-haul airlines means that the old order has imploded: the customer can now find, book and pay for his own flight. She can now organise her own holiday without the outbound agent ... even to the point of hiring cars, booking hotels and arranging activities abroad. Does this mean that the incoming agent is as obsolete as the out-going one? We don't think so for a number of reasons: firstly we live and work here, therefore we know more about what to see, what hotels to avoid, which ski resorts are good etc. Secondly, we have built a relationship with our suppliers (car hire, transfers, hotels, activities) which means getting a better price than you would get. The result is that we can create and market packages as cheap as (or cheaper) than you could create ... sparing you the time and guaranteeing you quality accommodation and service.

Officially, France à la carte is an 'agence réceptive', with a State travel agent licence and compulsory insurance and bonding. France has about the toughest licencing requirements of any country in Europe, guaranteeing customers of the financial soundness and seriousness of licence-holders. As an 'agence réceptive' we may not sell airline tickets but may book, sell or organise any tourism-related product once the customer is in France.

Now you know. Beware, however, of fly-by-night operators - especially on the Internet - who offer cheap packages in France but have no physical address in France ... and no travel agent licence number. You may get burned.