The company

In 1986, François Gailliard created La Fayette Travel with his good friend Gilles Rambaud. They both had an open mind and a will to propose Paris and its surrounding regions, which they both knew well, to groups coming from abroad, adapting the destination to other countries' tastes. The first event they looked after was the 60 years of Lindberg's crossing of the Atlantic with the "Spirit of St. Louis". This introduced them to the American market and the name of La Fayette Travel was chosen, for the close links the General La Fayette created between the USA and France in the 18th century.

La Fayette Travel then spread and became the most reliable French DMC in Paris for American groups. We looked after many famous corporate companies with the most prestigious incentive agencies. Souvenirs of special events come to mind, such as the first ever meeting in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace with the French President for Fortune 500 CEOs, the unique privatization of artists' square of Montmartre for Sun Microsystems, the launch of the TV series "Band of Brothers" in Normandy with Tom Hanks. All this was topped with the rare distinction for a DMC, of a SITE Award for best delivery trip for Xerox.

There have been glorious moments (ah, the 90s...) but also a number of difficult issues. The two Gulf wars in 1991 and 2003 devastated the market, the terrorist movements in Paris in 1995, the financial crisis of 2008 which still ripples upon the smooth running of a DMC such as La Fayette Travel... Being a DMC is not a steady ride as any event can totally affect our industry. Even volcanoes can be a threat!

We have since this 2008 western world crisis decided to go against the tide and expand:

• nationally, on a territorial basis with the openings of our Monaco office (2008) followed by the Cannes office (2009). We then opened new partnerships with incoming agencies in Bordeaux and Strasbourg (2011) that are now La Fayette Bordeaux and La Fayette Alsace. This enables us to cover locally vast areas of France in order to give you the best services available, wherever you choose to take your groups.
  
  
• internationally, through a diversification of our clientele. We now operate for North European clients as well as Anglo-Saxon countries around the world (UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa...) and, more recently, since 2011, Brazil and Russia. USA remains our main market and François is devoted to visiting incentive houses throughout the country whenever he can. He is probably the Frenchman who knows America the best!

We at La Fayette Travel are confident that the years to come will be bright and rewarding. We have adapted our agency to the challenges of tomorrow with a closer relationship with our clients, an open book and friendly approach in order for all of you to work with us with the trust that is needed to create and achieve great events.

Our research for the unique and our creativity remain intact, just as our attachment to France, that offers such a wide variety of possibilities for groups of all sorts and sizes. And we remain an independent agency with that unique French touch. We hope you will take the opportunity to drop us a line and let us take you for a ride in our blessed country.