FAM Trips and Press Tours by CG: Fall in Love with Tunisia and Reveal It to Others
Carthage Group hosts thousands of tourists annually. We have been organizing trips for many years and know exactly how to make journeys an exceptionally exciting and unforgettable experience.
However, the list of our guests is not limited to tourists only. We find special pleasure in arranging familiarization (FAM) trips and press tours for professionals who are involved in the tourism industry. This is one of the most important parts of our work.
To outsiders, such trips might seem just like a way for employees of travel agencies, tour operators, and journalists, who are tired of their daily routines, to relax and hang out. But this is far from the case.
We believe that such tours allow ordinary travelers to avoid many problems and get answers to difficult questions even before they arise.
How is this possible?
The Tunisia Destination Manager in Carthage Group, Irina Boukadida, and chief guide Alena Stakhovskaya, who has considerable experience of working in Turkey, Egypt, Goa, and Tunisia (where she has been living since 2009), will explain. These professionals plan the programs for Carthage Group’s FAM trips and press tours and personally accompany their participants.
Can you tell us how many FAM trips and press tours you have hosted this season? Which countries did the participants come from?
Irina: Quite a lot. We had several familiarization trips and press tours with participants from Romania, a FAM tour from Bulgaria, a press tour and a FAM trip from Moldova, info tours from Lithuania, Poland, and other countries.
Alena: I accompanied the Romanian, Lithuanian, Moldovan, and Polish groups that came through the tour operator JoinUP, and the Romanian groups on a FAM trip and a press tour through Christian Tour, and that’s not the entire list. In all the groups the language of communication was English.
And what is the difference between familiarization trips and press tours? What are their main goals and objectives, and what kinds of specialists participate in them?
Irina: These tours have different objectives and, consequently, different programs. FAM trips are attended by travel agents who primarily want to acquaint themselves with the hotels where they will be sending tourists. Press tours involve journalists, bloggers, and staff of print media. The goal here is to promote the destination. During these tours, they visit only a few key hotels for general familiarization, and they travel more around the country. The main aim for the participants is to present information about Tunisia to the people in their home country and focus on the specifics of the destination.
In general, all destination management Companies (DMCs) arrange such tours. Are there any special features in the organization of FAM trips and press tours by Carthage Group?
Alena: The French call trips for professionals involved in the tourism industry «educational.» And in our case, this is indeed true, as many participants in both FAM trips and press tours often come to Tunisia for the first time. The task of Carthage Group employees is to provide the most detailed and useful information about the country, its customs, and culture, and to showcase the potential of the destination.
The participants of FAM trips, for example, should receive clear answers from us to any questions their clients might have while buying a package tour. This way, they will be able to recommend exactly what the tourists will like in order to prevent situations when guests in Tunisia might say that they don’t like the hotel. This should not happen.
Irina: Yes, in Carthage Group we plan the programs of FAM trips and press tours truly meticulously. We accommodate participants of FAM trips and visit with them the very hotels which we offer tourists, so accommodation facilities range from five-star hotels to more budget-friendly options. Sometimes, our colleagues, the guests, ask, «Don’t you have the opportunity to provide us with exclusively luxury accommodation?» To which I invariably respond, «Of course, we do. But as agents, you need to know everything about the hotels where your clients will be staying. That’s why we strive to show the full range of our offerings.»
And this approach absolutely justifies itself. Tunisia is becoming a country for mass tourism, and whereas we used to focus more on luxury accommodation, the focus has now definitely shifted to quality vacations available to a large number of people. Although, options with increased levels of comfort are still in demand.
We also take into account excursions that are most popular with tourists and include them in the programs for tourism specialists. For example, the program of every press tour always includes such highlights from Carthage Group as guided tours to the Sahara and Carthage.
Can you point out any national characteristic which is typical of groups of specialists from different countries?
Alena: This season, I worked with colleagues from Romania as agents for the first time. There were two FAM trips, one with 50 participants and the other with 20 of them. They seemed simply wonderful to me. These guests were incredibly positive. Plus, there was a press tour from Romania with 19 people. I can’t remember the last time I saw people who took everything so positively.
For the first time this year, including for me, there were specialists from Moldova in Tunisia. I had a group that came for a FAM trip from this country. I was very impressed by their approach to work: they thoroughly inspected the hotels, filled out special tables, and asked many questions. The Moldovan colleagues were truly interested in everything related to the main task of providing tourists with the most convenient accommodation within a relatively small budget.
Irina: Participants of FAM trips from Poland are very demanding. In hotels, they are mainly interested in seeing rooms and, of course, tasting the food. In order to find the most luxurious accommodation options for their tourists, colleagues from this country once insisted that I replace the lunch at Club Novostar Dar Khayam 3* with something more upscale. However, I did not change the program, promising them, «You will be satisfied! Just try it.»
It is possible that some participants of the Polish group did not like my decision at all. In this regard, it is especially pleasant that, in the end, all the opponents enthusiastically noted the skill of the chefs and the quality of service at Club Novostar Dar Khayam 3*. This three-star hotel can indeed compete with many four-star ones.
How are the schedules for FAM trips and press tours arranged? Do the participants manage to get any rest?
Irina: As a rule, the schedules are quite busy. As for FAM trips, participants usually inspect about 10 hotels per day. However, considering the preferences of specialists from different countries, we can vary this number. For example, colleagues from Poland decided to limit themselves to inspecting 6 hotels per day, while travel agents from other groups sometimes inspect up to 12-13 properties in the same amount of time.
Of course, I do leave some free days for the participants of such tours. However, these free days are not always in demand. For example, our colleagues from Bulgaria decided to spend their day off visiting Carthage and asked me to add an excursion to this legendary ancient city to their program, saying they dreamed of seeing it with their own eyes. This was despite the fact that they had already visited the Sahara and that journey was really emotional and impressive, so, according to my assumptions, the participants of the FAM trip needed some time to relax.
As for press tours, I can say that their programs are also truly eventful. There are fascinating, customized excursions to historical sites and ancient monuments; trips to the Sahara, including visits to Kairouan, a holy city in the Islamic world, and encounters with the incredible underground dwellers, the troglodytes; visits to the amazing amphitheater in El Jem; and cooking masterclasses where participants learn to cook original Tunisian dishes, such as brik pastries with various fillings. There are simply too many things to list.
Alena: During FAM trips, colleagues spend each night in different hotels because the well-known All Inclusive concept has its own features everywhere and everything needs to be studied and tried personally. We depart at 08:45 or 09:00, acquaint ourselves with the regions of Tunisia, its popular resorts, including Hammamet, Sousse, Monastir, and others. We inspect hotels and, while doing it, sometimes walk about 10-12 kilometers a day. We go on excursions. Everything is well-planned, there’s no time to twiddle your thumbs. The schedule is very tight.
However, if they want, the participants of the FAM trips and press tours can still find time to go to the beach and swim, e.g. early in the morning or in the evening upon return. And it is worth it; Tunisian beaches are unique and cannot be compared even with island countries. Our guests are often surprised by the cleanliness of the local sea and the quality of the sand, which is white and soft.
What are the results of business trips for travel agents and journalists? Are there any tangible practical benefits from FAM trips and press tours?
Irina: We arrange all FAM trips for tour operators with whom we have already started cooperation. Some of our colleagues have already visited Tunisia and decided to refresh their memory. Others are coming for the first time in order to see with their own eyes the tourism product by Carthage Group.
And I can say that it works. Selling something you are familiar with is much more convincing. For example, after the FAM trip from Lithuania, I noticed a sharp increase in bookings from tourists. The same applies to Moldova and other countries. There is a visible result.
It is also very pleasant to read the reviews and articles from press tour participants. Such positive feedback provides an extra boost of energy for further work in promoting the Tunisian destination.
Alena: Yes, journalists and bloggers indeed write wonderful positive articles. For example, participants of the press tour from Moldova published their travel notes in one of the respected print media in their country, where they say they «dared to travel to discover both famous and unknown Tunisia.»
And the result is complete enthusiasm. Descriptions of the trip to the Sahara with its «adrenaline and racing, legends and magic,» the enchanting Sidi Bou Said, and the paradise-like Hammamet; all these are epithets taken from the publication. The article also covers the rich collections of archaeological museums, unique architectural historical landmarks, and the safety for guests in Tunisia.
There are many such publications in Romania and other corners of the world. And this is quite predictable; the positive attitude of our guests, both press tour participants and colleagues from FAM trips, is already felt in Tunisia. For example, Moldovans left with tears in their eyes and planned to return before the end of the season, with their families and friends. Traveling as a way to fall in love with a country and to pass on that love to others, revealing the destination to thousands of tourists – personally, I find it wonderful.
We’ve tried to give you an insider’s view of what FAM trips and press tours with travel agents and media representatives are at Carthage Group.
If you have a need or desire to undertake joint projects with our group of companies, we are always ready to collaborate and can guarantee that our approach will remain as meticulous, thoughtful, and professional as ever.
