Corporate Communications and Influence for the Travel Industry
Crisis communications, public affairs and executive voice for travel brands on the French market.
Since 2004, GroupExpression has worked with more than 50 travel brands on the French market: tourism boards, airlines, hotel groups, tour operators and cruise lines. As a corporate communication agency specialising in travel, we work across three fields: crisis communications, public affairs and executive voice. The industry’s own issues are our daily work: seasonality, regulation, sustainability and destination image.
Many of our clients are headquartered abroad. We are the link between their teams, the French media and French institutions, in French and in English. Through the Travel Lifestyle Network, our partner agencies, we can also act beyond France.
Our mission in travel corporate communications is to assert your leadership, defend your industry’s interests and strengthen your influence with the media and institutions of travel and tourism. Because we know the corporate, institutional and media worlds closely, we can design corporate influence strategies that serve your ambitions.
Crisis Communications for the Travel Industry
Anticipate, manage the emergency, prepare the recovery.
A strike, a transport incident, a security alert, severe weather, an accident in a destination, allegations against a property: in travel, a crisis can hurt the image of a brand or a destination within hours. We prepare your teams before anything happens, then stand with them during and after. The aim is to respond in hours, not days.
For a foreign brand the challenge is twofold: a head office often in another time zone, and French media who expect an immediate answer in their own language. Bridging the two is exactly what we do.
Vulnerability audit
A review of the risks specific to your business, of your communications manual if you have one, and of your current crisis procedures.
Ongoing monitoring
Spotting weak signals in the media, on social networks and among your stakeholders. Our AI tools widen the net; our consultants analyse and decide.
Crisis protocols
Scenario planning, key messages and holding statements, selection and preparation of spokespeople.
Crisis unit and crisis management
Real-time management of the response, media relations, coordination with headquarters and the French authorities.
Recovery communication
Defining the way out of the crisis and rebuilding the destination’s or brand’s image.
Training and media training
Simulation exercises for executives and teams.
This service is designed for tourism boards, airlines, hotel groups, tour operators and cruise lines operating on the French market.
Public Affairs
Tourist tax, air ticket tax, short-term rental rules, overtourism, sustainability targets, air access: public decisions bear directly on your business. We strengthen your standing with government departments, elected officials, trade federations and tourism institutions.
Regulatory monitoring
Anticipating the industry’s regulatory risks and opportunities.
Stakeholder mapping
Institutions, federations, elected officials and stakeholders relevant to your case.
Content writing
White papers, position papers, manifestos, contributions to public consultations.
Building your case
Key messages, data, answers to objections.
Meetings with decision-makers
We organise and prepare your one-to-one and industry meetings.
Sparring partners
We play your counterparts to prepare your executives for a hearing or a public statement.
Executive Voice and Leadership Communications
In travel, the chief executive is the face of the destination, the airline or the brand. We shape their voice, positioning and public presence, as an outsourced adviser and over the long term.
Day-to-day counsel
A dedicated senior consultant for all executive communications.
Messages and positioning
Defining the executive’s key messages and the line they hold.
Thought leadership
Speeches, keynotes, annual letters, op-eds, essays.
Media training and rehearsal
Preparation for interviews, TV appearances and debates.
Networking plan
Speaking slots and meetings at industry events: IFTM Top Resa, the Assises du tourisme, trade conferences.
LinkedIn and professional networks
Editorial strategy and day-to-day management of the executive’s accounts.
Our overarching mission is to defend our clients’ interests and help them build their influence in high-pressure environments.
Corporate Communications and Influence
Your reputation is made among the people who shape opinion in the industry: journalists, columnists, think tanks, opinion leaders and institutions. Our corporate influence counsel helps you assert what sets you apart and carry weight in the debates that matter to travel and tourism.
Opinion audit
Online and offline audit to understand what the industry says about you.
Opinion leader mapping
Think tanks, opinion leaders, columnists, online communities.
Corporate influence strategy
Developing the strategy, crafting messages and talking points.
Corporate brand strategy
Audit, brand values, tracking metrics, editorial output.
Events that shape opinion
Dinners, round tables, conferences.
Communications and digital support
Coordination with the agency’s other areas of expertise.
They Trust Us with Their Campaigns
Hospitality
Grand Palladium Hotels & Resorts
Hospitality
Hard Rock Hotels
Airline
Cathay Pacific
Cruise line
Celestyal Cruises
Hospitality
Opoa Beach Hotel
Hospitality
Centara Hotels Resort
Hospitality
Tamassa Resort
Hospitality
Hôtel Reva Tahiti
Tour operator
Amplitudes
Destination
Lorient Bretagne Sud
Q&A
- Who handles crisis communications for travel companies in France?
GroupExpression runs crisis communications for the travel industry on the French market: preparation, media response, holding statements and recovery communication for destinations, airlines and hospitality brands.
- What should you do in the first hours of a crisis?
First, assess the situation and appoint a spokesperson. Then publish an initial factual statement, even a short one, and align headquarters with local teams. Silence leaves the field open to others. With a protocol prepared in advance, these steps take a few hours rather than several days.
- When should a tourism organisation prepare its crisis plan?
Before any incident: mapping risks, preparing scenarios and spokespeople, and training teams, so that response time is measured in hours rather than days when a crisis hits a destination or a brand.
- Which types of crisis hit travel companies most often?
The most frequent are strikes and transport disruption, weather events and natural hazards, security or health alerts in a destination, accidents and allegations against a property, particularly on social media and review platforms.
- Is media training only for executives?
No. We also train spokespeople, market directors, communication teams and managers on the ground, who are often on the front line during a crisis.
- What is the difference between public affairs and lobbying?
Public affairs covers monitoring, analysis and building your arguments. Interest representation, as French law calls it, refers to direct approaches to decision-makers; in France it is regulated by the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP).
- Why should a travel executive speak out publicly?
Because they embody the destination, the airline or the brand. Their media interviews, appearances at industry events and posts on LinkedIn strengthen the company’s credibility with journalists, partners, institutions and talent.
- What does corporate communications cover for the travel industry?
Reputation, public affairs, executive voice and stakeholder communication, anchored in the specific issues of tourism: seasonality, regulation, sustainability and destination image.
- Do you support foreign brands entering the French market?
Yes, it is one of our longest-standing activities. We represent international destinations and brands in France, and work in French and English with their headquarters. Our Travel Lifestyle Network of partner agencies also allows us to act in other markets.
- How does AI fit into your work?
We use it for monitoring and detecting weak signals, which widens the scope of our surveillance. Analysis, recommendations and relationships with journalists and institutions remain in the hands of our consultants.