"
Do you think the Covid-19 will make us travel differently?"
The question was put to about fifteen students of the Masters in Destination Management at the Excelia tourism school, in La Rochelle. The poll turns into debate. The students discuss, argue, under the watchful eye of Sophie Lacour. This expert in tourism foresight and director of the Advanced Tourism firm is providing them with a first course on innovation on this Monday in November. The affirmative seems to win hands down.
It is difficult to ignore the health crisis when planning to work in tourism. As the industry has slowed down for two years due to border closures, do students still have faith? Health measures have deprived many of them of internships or educational projects which are crucial in their training. Having to work in hotels, tourist offices or local authorities in a few years, sometimes in managerial positions, they are on the front line in the face of the changes shaking the sector. Responsible or local tourism, environmental concerns, fight against overcrowding ... These concerns are redefining travel and which must now be taken into account.
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The desire to travel is still there, the sector is recruiting and the actors are sensitive to the search for meaning expressed by the young generation.
Pascal Capellari, Director of Specialized Schools of the Excelia Group
The Covid, a "
chance
" to reinvent travel
“
There is no vocations crisis
, assures Pascal Capellari, director of Excelia.
The desire to travel is still there, the sector is recruiting and the actors are sensitive to the search for meaning expressed by the young generation.
"If enrollments are stable compared to previous years, the number of graduates of a BTS in tourism (bac +2) continuing in bachelor (bac +3) has increased during the last two intake and this, despite the context. The Rochelais campus welcomes some 600 students, to which are added around fifty students in the new Tours branch opened in September 2020. The school is the only one in France to hold the TedQual certification. Issued by the World Tourism Organization (dependent on the UN), it attests to the quality of training programs and their relevance to the needs of the world market.
The changes affecting this market do not seem to discourage the students encountered by
Le Figaro
. "
Working in tourism, I have been thinking about it since I was little
," says Rémy, enrolled in the first year of a master's degree at Excelia. “
The sector is by definition dependent on crises, global or local. You have to know how to constantly adapt,
”insists the 21-year-old. Already graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Vatel hotel school in Brussels, he wanted to continue his studies with a tourism training course in order to have a “
more generalist vision of the sector
”. And to draw the contours of the hotel industry of tomorrow: “
The customer approach will change and focus on proximity and personalization.
The hotels will have to stand out, no longer by price, but by service.
»A desire for tailor-made that tourism players must more than ever integrate in order to meet the needs of travelers.
Read alsoTravel: the 8 trends that will mark 2022
Ecology, proximity ... Issues behind training
The students of the BTS tourism of the National School of Commerce (ENC) Bessières Paris (the only public of the Academy of Paris), just graduates, have not yet matured their professional project, but the sound of the bell remains the same. “
If we have to recognize a positive point in the health crisis, it is that we have finally taken the time to discover our region and our country. It is a habit that will have to be kept even when the epidemic has passed
, ”says Louna, currently on an internship in a travel agency. And his comrade Léo to bounce back: “
The journey is not only Tahiti or the Seychelles; it is also the edges of the Loire, rural France ... No need to go to the other end of the Earth to get away from it all!
"
Students must also deal with environmental concerns that pre-existed the onset of the pandemic.
At Excelia, the theme is tackled from the start of the master 1 as part of a course entitled "New trends and challenges in tourism", even if there is no course labeled "sustainable tourism".
“
It's an underlying theme throughout our training.
We even talk about it in accounting classes!
», Observes Dylan, Franco-British in third year of bachelor, who would like to work in the communication of destinations.
Read alsoWorking, proximity, environmental concerns ... These trends that are redefining travel
Educational cases to confront the field
To be in tune with new trends, students benefit from the expertise of the fifteen teacher-researchers who make up the Excelia research center. The rise of solo travel among women, the expectations of travelers regarding the environmental approach of furnished tourist accommodation, etc. These are all subjects of study to which the students make their contribution. This laboratory was even selected by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region to support the resumption of tourism and hotels in spring 2021.
Research is the subject of a master's degree where students must write a thesis on the theme of their choice. One trend stands out: "
A large part of the brief relates to the place of the inhabitant in the tourist offer
," reports Pascal Capellari.
This reflects a desire to involve them more in tourism promotion, to make them, in a way, the ambassadors of their city or region.
"
Students are also confronted with the field during their internships and work-study periods.
At ENC, between three and four months of internship are planned during the two years of BTS.
At Excelia, in the third year of the bachelor, students have the choice between work-study or a six-month internship.
During their studies, they regularly work on educational case studies, sometimes with the help of companies.
At the start of 2022, some master's students will thus benefit from a trip to La Gacilly, in Brittany, to help the cosmetics company Yves Rocher in its tourism development strategy for the territory.
Read also Dreams of escape in your head, but will travel cost more?
A "network of training excellence in tourism"
Bringing students and tourism businesses closer together is one of the objectives set by the government. On November 20, 2021, Prime Minister Jean Castex presented a plan to win back tourism called Destination France. It provides, among other things, for the creation of a “tourism excellence training network”. Expected for the first quarter of 2022, it should notably be based on the Conference of Training Excellence in Tourism (CFET) created in 2015 with the support of Atout France (the tourism development agency of France) and which includes Excelia, the UFR ESTHUA Tourism and Culture of Angers and the Ferrandi hotel school.
Objective: "to make attractive and visible to students and their families, businesses and regions, excellent training based on a comprehensive and integrated tourism sector".
The government wants to create 400 training places from bac +1 to bac +5 level by 2024. A renewal of talents which, according to Pascal Capellari, will allow France (the most visited country in the world) to keep its lead over emerging tourist destinations.
A challenge that students are ready to take on.
"
We all have a stone to contribute to the building
", enthuses Louna.
