Philibert Cruises

What Philibert Cruises does

Philibert Cruises is the cruise and shore-excursion-facing brand within the Philibert Travel & Event division of Groupe Philibert, a privately held French transport and tourism holding headquartered in Caluire & Cuire (Lyon metropolitan area). The operating legal entity is CARS PHILIBERT, a Société par Actions Simplifiée (SAS) with €1,000,000 in share capital and an Office headcount of approximately 22 employees within the travel-agency function. The group operates an owned fleet of 531 vehicles — 399 grand-tourism and tourism coaches, 43 minibuses, and 89 light vehicles including luxury VTC sedans — distributed across 14 depots in the Loire, Rhône, Ain, Haute-Savoie, and Isère departments.

The business is structured around two tightly integrated service lines. First, Philibert Travel & Event functions as an incoming travel agency (agence réceptive / DMC) serving international and domestic travel agencies, tour operators, and corporate clients with tailor-made leisure packages and Business & Events (MICE) services — congresses, seminars, and trade fairs — across all major French regions. Second, Philibert Location supplies the underlying transportation capacity, which is leveraged internally for group tours and offered externally as a vehicle rental product. The company is registered with Atout France (IM069100052), holds a passenger transport license (2014/82/000773), maintains APST financial guarantee membership, and carries Generali professional liability insurance.

Go-to-market is exclusively B2B and sales-led: Philibert does not sell directly to leisure consumers but rather acts as the ground-handling partner for international tour operators and corporate event organisers. Distribution channels rely on direct relationships with foreign travel agencies (with documented outreach into Japanese and Québécois source markets via Atout France Sakidori and ARF-Québec), industry trade shows, and a network of association memberships (France DMC Alliance, Etoa, GBTA, CLIA). Pricing is quote-based and customised per itinerary, with no standardised tiers publicly disclosed. The supporting technology stack is minimal: a bilingual WordPress-based website with Google Analytics and a Mailchimp-style newsletter are the only disclosed digital assets; there is no proprietary booking engine, AI, or mobile application.

Name

Philibert Cruises

Legal name

CARS PHILIBERT

Website

https://philibert-travel.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Philibert Cruises is the cruise- and shore-excursion-facing brand of Philibert Travel & Event, a French incoming travel agency (DMC) that designs tailor-made leisure and MICE packages in France and provides ground transportation through a 531-vehicle owned fleet for international tour operators, travel agencies, and corporate event clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Inbound Tourism Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487), Limousine Service (485320)

SIC

Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Destination Management (Ground Handling & Onsite Operations) (THAHADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Inbound DMCs (Full-Service Ground Handling) (THAKAEAA), Destination & Itinerary Management (DMC-Led Experiences, Excursions, VIP Access) (THAHANAE), Corporate Hospitality & VIP Services (Hosting, Protocol, Concierge) (THAHADAG)

Keywords

• Incoming travel agency
• Destination management services
• Group ground transportation
• MICE event organization
• Leisure travel packages

Headquarters

HQ city

Caluire & Cuire

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Incoming Agency Services: Customized travel packages and ground services for international tour operators and travel agencies visiting France. Services include guided tours, accommodations, transfers, and multi-day itineraries across French regions.
2. Transportation Services: Ground transportation through their own fleet of 531 vehicles including coaches, minibusses, and luxury vehicles for transfers and tours.
3. Business & Events Services: Congress, seminar, and trade fair organization services for corporate clients, including venue coordination and logistics management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Philibert Travel is a French incoming travel agency (DMC) that designs and delivers tailor-made leisure travel packages and business/MICE event services (congresses, seminars, trade fairs) for international tour operators, travel agencies, and corporate clients across all regions of France. The offering is operationally underpinned by an owned fleet of 531 vehicles (coaches, minibuses, and luxury sedans) distributed across 14 depots in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Product overview

Philibert Travel operates as a French incoming travel agency and event management company offering two integrated service lines: (1) Philibert Travel & Event — a full-service inbound travel brand providing bespoke leisure packages and MICE services across all of France with multilingual support, and (2) Philibert Location — an owned fleet of 531 vehicles (399 coaches, 43 minibuses, 89 light vehicles) distributed across 14 depots in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, providing transportation as part of complete travel itineraries. The two offerings are tightly coupled: the fleet underpins all escorted group travel programs, while the travel packages incorporate transportation as a core component.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Philibert Travel & Event (Incoming Travel Agency Services) Full-service inbound travel agency (DMC) brand offering tailor-made leisure packages and MICE/business event services across all of France, including congresses, seminars, and trade fairs. Targeted at international travel agencies, tour operators, and corporate clients.
• Philibert Location (Fleet Rental) Vehicle rental service providing 531 vehicles — grand tourism double-decker coaches (85 pax), grand tourism coaches (46–53 pax), tourism coaches (49–63 pax), small vehicles (8–16 pax), and luxury VTC sedans (7 pax) — across 14 depots in the Loire, Rhône, Ain, Haute-Savoie, and Isère departments.
• Leisure Travel Packages Tailor-made leisure travel packages for travel agencies and tour operators covering French regions including Bordeaux, Normandy, French Riviera, Périgord, Loire Valley, Burgundy, Rhône Valley, Lyon, Beaujolais, Drôme Provençale, French Alps, Basque Country, Brittany, Ain & Bresse, Auvergne, Ardèche, Camargue, Paris, Alsace, and Corsica, with themes such as art, culture, gastronomy, nature, and city breaks.
• Business & Events (MICE Services) MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events) services including congresses, seminars, and trade fair organization, delivered by a multilingual team with emergency support outside office hours for corporate clients.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional and minor.

• Atout FrancecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial French tourism development agency. Philibert Travel is registered with Atout France (registration number IM069100052) and participates in their promotional events like Sakidori France workshops targeting international tourism professionals.
• OnlyLyonregionalGTM or Marketing PartnerLyon tourism development agency. Philibert Travel is a partner member, positioning themselves as a local expert for Lyon and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes tourism.
• France DMC AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of French Destination Management Companies. Philibert Travel&Event is an active member. The alliance serves as a model for international receptive agencies, including ARF-Québec.
• Etoa (European Tourism Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean tourism association connecting tour operators with European suppliers. Philibert Travel is a member, enabling connections with international tour operators.
• GBTA (Global Business Travel Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal business travel association. Membership supports Philibert's business events and corporate travel services.
• CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCruise industry association. Philibert is listed as a member, suggesting shore excursion and port services for cruise lines.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Keolis Voyages: Keolis is a major French and European public-transport operator with a tourism and coach-hire division offering group travel and incoming services across France. Comparable to Philibert because of the overlapping coach/incoming-tourism activities and fleet-based operating model, though Keolis operates at much larger scale and across broader transport segments.
• TUI France: TUI France is the French arm of TUI Group, one of the world's largest integrated tourism operators with tour-operator, airline, and incoming capabilities. Comparable to Philibert on tour-operator sourcing of incoming French services, but TUI France operates as a vertically integrated incumbent with much broader scale and product range.
• Club Med: Club Med operates premium all-inclusive resorts in France and globally, with significant group and event business. Comparable to Philibert as a French-headquartered tourism operator with MICE and group-services capabilities, though Club Med's model is resort-anchored rather than coach-and-itinerary based.
• Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT): CWT is a global corporate travel and event management company with strong MICE capabilities and French operations. Comparable to Philibert on the corporate-events/congress segment, where both serve multinational clients needing multilingual ground-handling and group transport in France.
• Transdev: Transdev is a leading European mobility operator with passenger transport, coach charter, and tourism services in France. Comparable to Philibert because of shared coach-fleet operations and group passenger services, although Transdev's primary focus is public transit rather than DMC services.
• American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT): Amex GBT is a major global corporate travel and events management provider serving multinational clients in France. Comparable to Philibert on the MICE and corporate-event services side, although Amex GBT operates as a much larger international incumbent rather than a regional specialist.
• Voyageurs du Monde: Voyageurs du Monde is a leading French tour operator designing tailor-made and themed travel experiences across the world including France. Comparable to Philibert because of the shared custom-itinerary design, France destination expertise, and B2B/B2C blended model.

Others

• Atout France DMC Alliance: France DMC Alliance is the association of French Destination Management Companies of which Philibert is a member, including peer DMCs serving inbound tour operators across France. Comparable because member agencies compete with Philibert for the same international tour-operator contracts in overlapping French regions.

Emerging players

• Evaneos: Evaneos is a French-founded online marketplace connecting travelers with local DMC-style agencies for tailor-made trips. Comparable to Philibert on the tailor-made incoming-tourism model, though Evaneos is a digital intermediary rather than an asset-heavy DMC with its own fleet.

Direct peers

• FRAM: FRAM (now FRAM Dynamique) is a French tour operator designing package holidays and escorted tours within France and internationally. Comparable to Philibert because both sell France-based escorted leisure products to French and international tour-operator and B2B clients, though FRAM is a tour operator/brands rather than a DMC.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/philibert-travel-events

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Philibert Cruises