Well known to tourism professionals, the Sulema company presents itself as a real barometer to keep the pulse of an industry and know the current development prospects.
For 18 years, Jean-Charles Martin has been traveling the roads of France to meet with travel agents, TOs and other players in the profession every day. Is there a better way to measure current expectations?
This year the demands focus on: more personalization, more CSR and more upscale.
Tour Hebdo: Your event gives you a springboard for observation. How is the industry doing?
Jean-Charles Martin : We have felt a strong dynamic in the agencies for several months now, and most of the lights are green, although caution still needs to be exercised. These mostly inform me that I have a lot of work to do. I hear it regularly “I’m having a hard time responding to all requests.”
Tour Hebdo: What about Sulema’s event?
Jean-Charles Martin :Despite the climatic and geopolitical events that have directly affected the profession in general and therefore our profession in particular in the past and today, we are still within the planned targets. On the other hand, orders are also developing. We are being questioned much more about the increasing demand for “RSE”. We have adapted our product range and the facilities at our factory in Spain to move in this direction.
Weekly Tour: How was this year’s IFTM fair?
Jean-Charles Martin : We are very pleased with our second participation. Sulema bet on this program again this year and the effort turned out to be very positive. I was supported by some of the sales team in Spain who were heavily involved in this show. I don’t know the comparative participation figures, but I am observing very good quality contacts. The content of the discussions and the feedback to date show that this edition is excellent.
Weekly Tour: What are the major sales trends?
Jean-Charles Martin : Our environmentally friendly product range continues to attract the attention of agencies. But I must add that another big trend is emerging: completely personalized products. Finally, I observe that there is more demand for higher-end or personalized products this year. This is also the case with personalized backpacks or travel bags. Of course, demand for essential products such as luggage pouches and tags remains high.
Weekly Tour : What is Sulema’s added value to travel agencies?
Jean-Charles Martin: Our positioning is because we specialize in producing promotional products exclusively for the tourism industry. Therefore, we have the ability to develop special products for travel agencies. We can personalize them 100% with drawings, texts, photographs… Our collections of pouches, make-up bags or other travel bags in agency colors prove this.
Tour Hebdo: Where are they held?
Jean-Charles Martin: Our main workshop is located in the north of Spain. Our machines equipped with the latest technologies guarantee good production quality. I would also like to add that our doors are open to agencies who want to see how we produce or customize their orders.
Tour Hebdo: How do you see 2024?
Jean-Charles Martin: In line with the dynamic I just explained, the predictions for next year after the IFTM Top Résa fair continue to be promising. We are preparing a range of new products to support this demand and our range of ecological products made in Spain will be further expanded to meet the growing demand in this area. This will apply to items that can be reused daily, or at least as much as possible: travel bags or backpacks, toiletry bags and tote bags of all styles.
Tour Hebdo: Gaining market share?
Jean-Charles Martin: Undisputed. More and more people in the tourism industry continue to trust us and we thank them for that. 2024 will be a good year and I will always be there to work passionately on our customers’ future projects and better meet the expectations of the industry. From January I will be supported by Sergio, who has been working with us for several years. He appeared with me in the last two IFTMs and many tourism players already know him.
By staying together, we will continue to listen to tourism professionals in order to better meet their expectations.
*Sulema has been carrying its knowledge on all matters related to advertising and promotional products to the Travel and Tourism world for 43 years.
