Tourist Echo: Greece has just drastically increased its “climate resilience tax”. Is this a threat to the attractiveness of the destination?
Nicolas Ivaldi : This unnamed tourist tax is not collected by us, since customers pay it directly at their destination. For those who stay in a 5* hotel, it is true that the bill will quickly increase (15 euros per person per night in high season). We have communicated these increases to our distribution partners. But I don’t think taxes become a barrier for the destination. On the other hand, the price of air travel could end up discouraging customers.
Inflation not slowing down in Greece?
Nicolas Ivaldi : On the land side, which has been singled out, the rise in prices has stabilized. But, at the moment, the price of air travel is really very high. In mid-December, a flight for a stay in Greece in the spring could cost up to 700 euros. At this price, certain long-haul destinations become accessible. Customers will end up making this switch if this inflation is not contained. But we have seen this phenomenon before, and prices will fall if sales do not take off properly.
With 40,000 customers per year, Greece remains Héliades’ main destination.
This risk on Greece must not be ideal for Héliades, a specialist in the destination…
Nicolas Ivaldi : Greece remains one of the favorite destinations on the French market, and that is very good for us. So we are not pessimistic, but I remain cautious.
With 40,000 customers per year, Greece remains Héliades’ main destination. It represents 55% of our business volume, which reaches 60.5 million euros in 2024. I will not communicate precise figures, but we will be very profitable when we close the balance sheets, partly thanks to the Greece destination. . Moreover, we are still banking heavily on it, as evidenced by our latest brochure which brings together a largely redesigned offer.
Any new features stand out?
Nicolas Ivaldi : Overall, 40% of the products listed are new products. Over the last three years, 70% of Héliades’ production has been redesigned. The market sometimes criticized us for only having classic addresses, efficient but without surprises. We have therefore added boutique hotels, cocooning addresses, family clubs… All to, in particular, extend the length of stay, now to 9 nights, compared to 7 with charters. We have also expanded our cruise offering. In addition to our usual partnership with Celestyal Cruises, we program Pearls of the Mediterraneana cruise operated by MSC Cruises.
Héliades no longer offers charter flights?
Nicolas Ivaldi : If, of course, we cannot do without it. We will connect Greece and Crete from Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Lille and even Nantes. But that’s no longer our core business like it was back then. The dynamic package is taking up more and more space and our economic model is now based on a mix between stays (including clubs), which account for 60% of our activity, and our à la carte service.
Is à la carte still the main growth lever for Héliades?
Nicolas Ivaldi : It’s obvious. Since the launch of Travel Explorer, we have become increasingly successful in this segment. This is the right tool for Greece. It allows you to perform fairly technical island combinations at crazy speed. The distribution, and this is normal, needed a period of getting used to it, but it has now been adopted. It is a very powerful tool which allows us to increase these highly contributing sales while reaffirming to the market that Héliades is the essential specialist in Greece.
Competition is still very strong in Greece…
Nicolas Ivaldi : Yes, and that forces us to always innovate, which Travel Explorer facilitates. For example, one of our strengths is our offer in the lesser-known islands: the Sporades, the Ionians, the Saronic… These are magnificent trips, and demand is increasing significantly. We always maintain a very strong link with our receptives, in each geographical area of the country, which allows us to be up to date on all the news and trends. This proximity to the field is very valuable in setting us apart.
Héliades is no longer limited to Greece. What are your other structuring axes?
Nicolas Ivaldi : At the risk of repeating myself, the big success of the year 2024 is Travel Explorer. But we are also very satisfied with our products in Cape Verde. The announced strengthening of inter-island air connections will also allow us to offer a real à la carte offer to this destination. We also “performed” in Mexico, and it is a personal satisfaction, because I have a particular affection for this destination. Héliades has managed to become essential in Mexico, and it is unexpected.
Do you have a first overview of the sales level for 2025?
Nicolas Ivaldi : The season is off to a pretty good start, especially for the first four months of the year. But we didn’t really start selling in the summer. The market, very dynamic in mid-December, fell a little dormant during the end-of-year holidays. Since then, he has still been sluggish. But we will know how to animate it if it does not start naturally. The year 2025 will be busy. We will launch new destinations, starting with the Bahamas, which I can already make official. And Héliades will continue his transformation. Today’s business is not the same as it was five years ago. We worked a lot on the brand, on what we make, how we sell it or how we approach agencies. This redesign has done us a lot of good.
