How Much Can a Profession Define a Woman? Interview with Nicolle Martin

Our journey to find people who inspire us is quite long and slow. Sometimes we just stop and watch...the infinite energy! We sometimes find it in unexpected ways, or hidden behind shy people. Surprisingly!

And when the energy comes with a certain candor and rigor, we want to know more! That's how we found Nicolle Martin, the President of the Skal International Côte d'Azur Association!
We wanted to know what's behind her elegant smile! Well, a passion and a profession, both so strong that they fit perfectly with her personality. And we begin to wonder: where does passion come from and where does personality crystallize and vice versa? How much craft is in a woman and how much woman in a craft? Up to you  to finf out from this interview!

"I have been the President of Skal International Côte d'Azur for more than four years! I had a very long career in tourism which is a real passion for me. What could be more wonderful than living your passion in your job? This consisted in ensuring the tourist promotion of the city of Nice in France and worldwide. It was with such pride to introduce tourism professionals to the thousand facets of the Côte d'Azur during study trips.
When I ended my career more than two years ago, the Skal came to me and it was the continuity of my passion for tourism. »

Fate wanted it otherwise

But Nicolle tells us that it was not her choice from the start. She wanted to be an air hostess but her dad didn't agree with it and introduced her to the world of tourism, which she has never left ever since. Today with hindsight she appreciates this decision because she was able to discover and nourish this passion thanks to the decision of her father.

When the woman has the power to move things

"The Skal Association," Nicolle continues, "is an old lady, born in 1933. Travel agents have gone on trips to meet their counterparts in Sweden. During their meeting, they made a toast, "skal" which means "to your health". When they returned to Paris, they created the first Skal at the Hotel Scribe and the idea spread all over the world. Today we are 12,500 professionals divided into 315 clubs in 100 countries.
When I took over the club, four years ago, our association was in freefall with only nine members. The international Skal asked me to bounce back or close the club. Today, I am proud to be the 40th president of the 1st club in Europe out of 93 and the 2nd in the world out of 315 with 235 members. The Club earned 4 Platinum Awards in a row for the exponential increase in our membership and the recognition of the world president of Skal International.
I am also very honored to have been named ambassador of the CRT Côte d'Azur France and to ensure the promotion and influence of our superb destination.

What is the recipe?

"The recipe is simple! I love my members and the members love me. It's the sharing, the friendship, the business between all the members of our association that are very motivating.
My values are benevolence, listening to others, know-how, the transmission of my experience to future generations of tourism within the young Skal."

Life is full of things that bind us to our job, to others or to ourselves. A smiling anecdote to make us think of Nice...under the snow! Yes, under the snow!

The battle of confetti and snowflakes in Nice

"When I worked at the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolitan Tourist Office, I welcomed delegations of tourism professionals from all over the world. Internationally, Nice was "exotic" and exciting, but Parisians sometimes had a negative image of the city. They preferred other destinations like Canada or the Caribbean...
One year, during the Carnival, I welcomed a dozen young women from Paris where it was very cold. They arrived with a beautiful sun to discover the Carnival and the Battle of the Flowers. They were enchanted by the weather, the sea, the sun, the palm trees. The Battle of the Flowers was going very well and on Saturday, change of scenery, change of weather... it snows! For the people of Nice, snow happens three times in a lifetime! They found it very funny. It was the battle of confetti and snowflakes on the stands. The next day, the airport was closed and they could not leave, it was a disaster for me. It was not the image that I wanted them to keep of the destination. But they were delighted and hoped that the storm would not stop to stay another two days in our beautiful city and not return to Paris. » 

Interview by Andra Oprea