Carole Gölitz, Marketing Director of Frankreich-webazine - DR
TourMaG.com: Can you introduce Frankreich to us?
Carole Gölitz: “frankreich-webazine.de is a new digital platform for the promotion of France on germanophone markets.
It is the German little sister of frankrijk.nl that was launched in Holland in January 2014 and that, in the span of 2 years, turned into the most popular travel blog devoted to just one country.
We currently have 50,000 monthly visitors, with a 100% organic traffic, meaning of high-quality and high commitment rate. Continuing to inspire, amaze, and orient repeated customers, attract and astonish new travelers with unusual and quality places, these are some of our strategic choices both on the Dutch and German markets.
Indeed, while Germany remains the number one touristic market in the world, the France destination is only in 5th place and the competition challenges remain strong.
This major market that we are tackling with frankreich-webazine.de still is the second source of tourists for France and deserves all our attention and that of French DMC players.
In fact, the Atout France office in Germany saluted our initiative on this market. Our webzine targets a specific clientele, the one in search of great, unusual, trending places and destinations, that are both intimate and exclusive.
We are aware that we do not represent all of the French offer on our website, this is a conscious bias and strategy choice to select more high-quality offers (which doesn’t necessarily mean we only pick upscale or luxury products.)
We aim to be a friend or the personal traveler coach of our readers that makes a preselection of the best, unmissable, trending spots and places in France.”
TourMaG.com: What makes your website unique compared to other webzines?
C.G.: “The number one originality is surely the name “webzine” that is still not very known nor used on the German market. The 1st reactions are often: a what?
This is not surprising for a country where paper is still very much in use, just walk by a press kiosk to notice the large amount of material.
So we wished to keep the evasion power of a magazine while adapting to the current digital world. The webzine is 100% compatible with computers, smartphones or tablets, it provides the reader with the possibility to share, like, comment, or save on a customized card each article in one single click.
Its 2nd unique aspect is that there still isn’t a comparable platform on the German market that inspires, informs, orients, and inspires dreams on trips to France. Charm, authenticity, and lifestyle are key elements of our webzine.
Our content is unique and based on our experience, our trips and encounters in France. We only feature places that we like and where we would like to stay. Finally, we always put ourselves in the shoes of our readers, which has been our recipe for success in Holland for the last 2 years.
Our Senior Editor is based in Paris, she is best positioned to unearth everything that is new, trendy, popular in France for us and our readers.
We also have a Made in France column that is constantly developing. It highlights the French know-how that is being exported and that can be found in the place of vacation or purchased online.
Finally, our platform puts our readers in direct contact with service providers. Any information, availability, or reservation request is directly sent to the accommodator, restaurant, boutique, or other site.”
Carole Gölitz: “frankreich-webazine.de is a new digital platform for the promotion of France on germanophone markets.
It is the German little sister of frankrijk.nl that was launched in Holland in January 2014 and that, in the span of 2 years, turned into the most popular travel blog devoted to just one country.
We currently have 50,000 monthly visitors, with a 100% organic traffic, meaning of high-quality and high commitment rate. Continuing to inspire, amaze, and orient repeated customers, attract and astonish new travelers with unusual and quality places, these are some of our strategic choices both on the Dutch and German markets.
Indeed, while Germany remains the number one touristic market in the world, the France destination is only in 5th place and the competition challenges remain strong.
This major market that we are tackling with frankreich-webazine.de still is the second source of tourists for France and deserves all our attention and that of French DMC players.
In fact, the Atout France office in Germany saluted our initiative on this market. Our webzine targets a specific clientele, the one in search of great, unusual, trending places and destinations, that are both intimate and exclusive.
We are aware that we do not represent all of the French offer on our website, this is a conscious bias and strategy choice to select more high-quality offers (which doesn’t necessarily mean we only pick upscale or luxury products.)
We aim to be a friend or the personal traveler coach of our readers that makes a preselection of the best, unmissable, trending spots and places in France.”
TourMaG.com: What makes your website unique compared to other webzines?
C.G.: “The number one originality is surely the name “webzine” that is still not very known nor used on the German market. The 1st reactions are often: a what?
This is not surprising for a country where paper is still very much in use, just walk by a press kiosk to notice the large amount of material.
So we wished to keep the evasion power of a magazine while adapting to the current digital world. The webzine is 100% compatible with computers, smartphones or tablets, it provides the reader with the possibility to share, like, comment, or save on a customized card each article in one single click.
Its 2nd unique aspect is that there still isn’t a comparable platform on the German market that inspires, informs, orients, and inspires dreams on trips to France. Charm, authenticity, and lifestyle are key elements of our webzine.
Our content is unique and based on our experience, our trips and encounters in France. We only feature places that we like and where we would like to stay. Finally, we always put ourselves in the shoes of our readers, which has been our recipe for success in Holland for the last 2 years.
Our Senior Editor is based in Paris, she is best positioned to unearth everything that is new, trendy, popular in France for us and our readers.
We also have a Made in France column that is constantly developing. It highlights the French know-how that is being exported and that can be found in the place of vacation or purchased online.
Finally, our platform puts our readers in direct contact with service providers. Any information, availability, or reservation request is directly sent to the accommodator, restaurant, boutique, or other site.”
Autres articles
TourMaG.com: How did you get the idea of launching such a website?
C.G.: “Two years ago, we were three to launch frankrijk.nl on the Dutch market: Josée Schouten, Nicky Bouwmeester and myself.
Very quickly, we asked ourselves why stop with Holland and not inspire other readers. In our growth and internationalization process, many asked us why first in German and not in English? Because a large amount of websites and blogs systematically choose English as a second language, making the competition tougher on networks!
However, to our knowledge, there is no comparable platform to ours on germanophone markets. In this respect, it was an opportunity for us to take, a priority and neighboring market to pay particular attention, especially since I am very familiar with it.
Indeed, I worked in Austria and Germany for more than 8 years, during which 6 and a half I worked at Maison de la France (now Atout France.) I am married to a German and even though I have been living and working in Holland for more than 13 years, I maintained a strong professional and private network on these markets and can offer my expertise.
But in order to best tackle the germanophone markets, we needed to find the rare gem that could join our team and transcribe in German at best (and not only translate!) our unique places and our great articles, but also create new and unique contents for this market. And we found it! Ulrike, a travel journalist and German blogger who has been successfully inciting Germans for a few years now to come explore Dutch beaches. She is also an ambassador for the Dutch Tourism Office and manages 2 personal blogs among others. And don’t worry, the English version will come very very soon.”
TourMaG.com: Generally, what do Germans like in France?
C.G.: “The German clientele, like the Dutch, is demanding and sensitive to the services/price ratio and hygiene. They expect a high level of comfort and modern infrastructures.
They love seaside resort stays (in the sun) and are fond of Languedoc Roussillon, PACA, the French Riviera, Corsica but also the Atlantic Coast and Britany.
They are in the quest for cultural visits through city breaks and multiple-stop trips.
Finally, they are sensitive to protected natural spaces and love to practice cycle tourism and hiking in France. They enjoy our cuisine and are often true connoisseurs of our wines and vineyards.
While the Germans, just like the Dutch, visit all parts of France, some regions like Alsace for instance are more sought-after and visited by the Germans over the Dutch. This allows us to adapt to the demands of markets, destinations, and French incoming agencies.
The school holidays period are different on both markets which allows us to make different publications.
Mountain and ski holidays in the Winter is a strong and important thematic for our Dutch version, we hope to also inspire the Germans with places and photo reports that they don’t usually associate with the France destination.
We should also highlight the DOM-TOM more on our German version than on the Dutch one because these destinations are more coveted by the Germans, Swiss, and Austrians.”
Frankreich Webazine Website: www.frankreich-webazine.de
Contact: carole@frankreich-webazine.de
C.G.: “Two years ago, we were three to launch frankrijk.nl on the Dutch market: Josée Schouten, Nicky Bouwmeester and myself.
Very quickly, we asked ourselves why stop with Holland and not inspire other readers. In our growth and internationalization process, many asked us why first in German and not in English? Because a large amount of websites and blogs systematically choose English as a second language, making the competition tougher on networks!
However, to our knowledge, there is no comparable platform to ours on germanophone markets. In this respect, it was an opportunity for us to take, a priority and neighboring market to pay particular attention, especially since I am very familiar with it.
Indeed, I worked in Austria and Germany for more than 8 years, during which 6 and a half I worked at Maison de la France (now Atout France.) I am married to a German and even though I have been living and working in Holland for more than 13 years, I maintained a strong professional and private network on these markets and can offer my expertise.
But in order to best tackle the germanophone markets, we needed to find the rare gem that could join our team and transcribe in German at best (and not only translate!) our unique places and our great articles, but also create new and unique contents for this market. And we found it! Ulrike, a travel journalist and German blogger who has been successfully inciting Germans for a few years now to come explore Dutch beaches. She is also an ambassador for the Dutch Tourism Office and manages 2 personal blogs among others. And don’t worry, the English version will come very very soon.”
TourMaG.com: Generally, what do Germans like in France?
C.G.: “The German clientele, like the Dutch, is demanding and sensitive to the services/price ratio and hygiene. They expect a high level of comfort and modern infrastructures.
They love seaside resort stays (in the sun) and are fond of Languedoc Roussillon, PACA, the French Riviera, Corsica but also the Atlantic Coast and Britany.
They are in the quest for cultural visits through city breaks and multiple-stop trips.
Finally, they are sensitive to protected natural spaces and love to practice cycle tourism and hiking in France. They enjoy our cuisine and are often true connoisseurs of our wines and vineyards.
While the Germans, just like the Dutch, visit all parts of France, some regions like Alsace for instance are more sought-after and visited by the Germans over the Dutch. This allows us to adapt to the demands of markets, destinations, and French incoming agencies.
The school holidays period are different on both markets which allows us to make different publications.
Mountain and ski holidays in the Winter is a strong and important thematic for our Dutch version, we hope to also inspire the Germans with places and photo reports that they don’t usually associate with the France destination.
We should also highlight the DOM-TOM more on our German version than on the Dutch one because these destinations are more coveted by the Germans, Swiss, and Austrians.”
Frankreich Webazine Website: www.frankreich-webazine.de
Contact: carole@frankreich-webazine.de
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