Lorens at IFTM Top Resa: Putting Film on the Travel Map
From 15 to 17 September, the French travel industry met at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles for IFTM Top Resa. We went with one idea to share: a film is one of the most powerful invitations to travel ever made.
IFTM Top Resa: three days at the heart of the travel trade
IFTM Top Resa is where the whole French travel trade meets. Tour operators, travel agencies, tourism boards, carriers and tech providers all attend. In total, around 1,700 brands filled Hall 1. This year’s edition focused on the value of travel, a theme that could hardly suit us better. Our answer is simple: a journey is worth more when it carries a story. And few stories travel as far as those told on screen. So for three days, we walked the aisles and sat down with the people who design trips for a living. Together, we talked about how cinema shapes the way people see, choose and remember a destination.
Why the travel trade should look at the screen
Travellers rarely choose a destination from a list of monuments. They choose it because something made them want to be there. And very often, that something is a film or a series. The trade knows the effect. Yet few offers build on it, and that is exactly the space Lorens works in.
We turn filming locations into experiences a tour operator can sell and a guide can deliver. These are routes that follow a shoot, with scenes replayed on the very spot where the crew filmed them. As a result, the story begins before departure. For example, our campaign around L’Affaire Bojarski in Lyon proved the point. With Adso Films and The Travelling Set, we saw how quickly a release can become a reason to book. That is the story we brought with us to Paris.
What we are bringing back from Paris
We leave IFTM with new contacts, plenty of ideas and a clear sense that the appetite is there. On the one hand, agencies are looking for products that stand out. On the other hand, destinations want visitors who come for a reason and stay longer. And cinema gives both a head start. In the weeks ahead, we will follow up with the professionals we met. Together, we will build film-based itineraries. We will also put Lorens Toolkit in the hands of more guides. Whether we crossed paths in the aisles or missed each other, get in touch. The next trip worth taking may already be on screen.
