Marianne is an expert at securing media coverage for the organizations that she works with. She knows how to develop relationships with journalists resulting in appearances in publications such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, as well as hundreds of local, trade and industry publications.
Appearances by organization:
Bébé Voyage Media Appearances
The New York Times, Nov. 27, 2022
The Key to Vacationing with a Toddler? A Wave-Free Beach
[…] Ten Bay Beach, which is brimming with sand dollars and shallow at low tide, also emerged on the suggestion list provided by Bébé Voyage, an online community for traveling families. […]
The New York Times, Mar. 30, 2021
Family Travel Gets Complicated Without a Covid Vaccine for Kids
[…] In a March survey on Bébé Voyage, an online community for traveling families, 90 percent of respondents said that amid unclear guidelines on Covid-19 testing, they were searching for flexible bookings. The topic also comes up often on Bébé Voyage’s Facebook page, particularly among parents in the United States. “It’s the Americans in the group that are the most nervous traveling with kids,” said the Bébé Voyage chief executive, Marianne Perez de Fransius. […]
The New York Times, Dec. 22, 2020
9 Ways the Pandemic Will Change Travel in 2021
[…] Most notable this year for families, though, was the loss — or pause — of multigenerational trips.
“Intergenerational travel — going someplace with grandparents — is kind of off the books for a while,” said Marianne Perez Fransius, the co-founder and chief executive of Bébé Voyage, a family-travel website and online community of globe-trotting parents. “What people are talking about is going to visit grandparents because they haven’t been able to do that.” […]
But there is one big, unanswered question: Vaccinations for children. None of the vaccines have been tested on kids, and while inoculations are being rolled out for older people first, it’s unclear when they will reach children.
“If kids can’t get the vaccine, one concern I’ve heard is about what happens with tourists,” said Ms. Perez de Fransius. “Are countries going to say, ‘You can’t come in unless everyone is vaccinated?’” […]
The Washington Post, Nov. 14, 2019
Stuck with an annoying airline seatmate? Here’s what you can do about it.
[…] I asked Marianne Perez Fransius for her thoughts on babies in flight.
“A crying baby can be annoying,” says Perez Fransius, the CEO of Bébé Voyage, a site for parents who travel with young children. “But the absolute wrong reaction is berating the parent or caretaker for having a crying baby. Parents want their baby to stop crying more than the other passengers.”
Instead, offer to help or try distracting the baby. “Maybe you have a cute video on your phone you could show the baby, or you have something entertaining like a colorful keychain,” Perez Fransius says. […]
The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 31, 2016
The Parents Who Take the Baby on Safari
In Namibia, Simon Perez Fransius touched seals in Walvis Bay and marveled at the Fish River Canyon, the largest in Africa. He took a boat ride around Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago and visited South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. He has traveled in the U.S. and Europe. He is 2 years and 9 months old.
“We’ve done a lot of safaris with Simon,” says his mother, Marianne Perez Fransius, a 36-year-old French-American. “One of the biggest reasons to travel with our son is to instill in him a sense of curiosity.”
In January 2014, when Simon was 6 weeks old, Ms. Perez Fransius and her husband Andreas, a Swedish diplomat, moved to Mozambique, where he was posted. The family used Mr. Perez Fransius’s six-month paternity leave to travel, including a one-month road trip from Mozambique to Namibia, with stops in Botswana and South Africa along the way.
“The smaller they are, the easier it is to travel with them,” Ms. Perez Fransius says. Last year, she and her childhood friend, Juliet Perrachon, started a website offering advice and support for globe-trotting families called Bébé Voyage. Their Facebook group has around 2,500 members. […]
The Expedition, Mar. 24, 2022
The Hottest Family Vacation Spots for Spring 2022
[…] Argentina
This South American country isn’t just rich in culture and natural beauty—it boasts high vaccination rates and sophisticated tourism infrastructure. Plus, it can be exceptionally affordable for U.S. travelers. “Inflation is quite high,” says Marianne Perez-Fransius, CEO of family travel community Bébé Voyage, an Expedition partner. “But if you are coming in with U.S. dollars and exchanging them at the ‘blue’ informal market rate, you get double the pesos of the official rate—which can stretch your budget quite a bit.” Argentina’s seasons are the reverse of the Northern Hemisphere’s, which means that in March or April—the end of summer there—you can enjoy dining outdoors in Buenos Aires.
Reader’s Digest, updated Jun. 27, 2022
13 Ways Air Travel Will Change in 2020
[…] But in Europe, airlines have been pressured by regulators to seat families together, and Marianne Perez de Fransius, CEO of Bébé Voyage, believes that the United States will catch up to Europe in 2020. “Frankly, it’s ridiculous,” she says, “because what plane passenger wants an unattended toddler sitting next to him?” […]
Travel Weekly, Feb. 21, 2017
Baby on board: Traveling with infants
[…] Indeed, a big part of the challenge, according to Marianne Perez Fransius, co-founder of Bebe Voyage, an online community of globe-trotting parents, is that there is a much more negative attitude toward traveling with a baby in the U.S. than exists elsewhere in the world.
“I would definitely say that in North America, traveling with a baby is seen as much more unnatural or subject to criticism,” Fransius said. “In the U.S. in particular, travelers who travel with babies feel like they’re getting the side-eye and feel like they have to fight for things. Either it’s perceived as potentially unhealthy for the baby — what happens if your baby gets sick? — or it seems frivolous — your baby isn’t going to remember this so what’s the point? Is it really worth it, considering all the gear?”
Consequently, Fransius said, when Americans travel with their babies internationally, they’re surprised to find how friendly and welcoming international fellow travelers can be toward their little ones.
“When Americans travel to the Middle East, they’ll say, ‘It was a totally different world. Everyone liked the baby. Everyone was so excited, and they were entertaining our baby,'” Fransius said. “Depending on which part of the world you’re in, it’s a very different experience.” […]
More recently, Bebe Voyage has also become more involved in legislative issues that impact traveling families. For example, it threw its support behind the Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act (Babes Act), which was signed into law in December, just in time for the busy holiday travel season. The law requires the TSA to better train its agents to ensure that parents traveling with breast milk, formula and infant-feeding equipment aren’t mistreated and that breast milk isn’t forcibly tossed out, equipment isn’t broken or flights get missed due to prolonged inspections. […]
Clearly, traveling with a baby is not without its trials. But that hasn’t stopped families from hitting the road with their munchkins. While that puts some travel suppliers in the difficult position of having to please both those traveling with and without babies, the hope among those who advocate for family travel is that ultimately travel companies will view babies as just as much a priority as any other passenger or guest.
Said Bebe Voyage’s Fransius, “In my opinion it would be nice if they started seeing the babies as potential long-term customers.”
AFAR, Aug. 20, 2021
Is It Safe to Travel With Unvaccinated Kids in the Era of the Delta Variant?
[…] When it comes to official government policies regarding travel restrictions for kids amid the pandemic, often “there is no clear guidance,” says Marta Conte, editor in chief of online family travel community Bébé Voyage. “This is why everyone is asking, ‘What’s happening with the kids? What documents do we need?’ A lot of time there is no information at all. Kids are very much left behind.” […]
Travel Daily News, May 28, 2020
Traveling parents share their thoughts about post-Covid 19 travel habits
CHICAGO, IL and LONDON, UK – Nearly half of millennial parents say that their ideas of travel have changed since the implementation of stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions due to Covid-19. Bebe Voyage, experts in connecting globetrotting parents, surveyed parents of young children to find out how they will alter travel plans because of Covid-19. Respondents stated in different ways that the evolving nature of the crisis makes it difficult for them to plan or process implications for their long-term travel habits.
Long-term, many respondents (52%) plan to travel the same amount, but they say they will travel differently. The most consistent changes to travel habits include: traveling closer to home (26%) and focusing on “staycations” (17%).
Short-term travel plans are much more unpredictable, they say, because there are so many unknowns regarding the virus’ progression and potential resurgence. Most respondents want to see Covid behind us before they start planning any vacations (45%) or start traveling at all (44%). However, quite a few respondents (39%) were still considering travel for late summer/early fall. Others are focusing on outdoor adventures (28%) or “staycation” holidays (16%).
Bebe Voyage community members live all over the world and across locations, their desire to travel is mostly fueled by wanting to visit extended family. The pause also brought out more existential reflections around travel. Many respondents feel they want to be more mindful: focusing on sustainable travel, giving back to communities they visit and building greater empathy through experiences.
This baseline survey was administered between April 4th and 19th, 2020 with 69 respondents from around the world.
Airline Passenger Experience Magazine, Apr. 13, 2017
[…]
“With the advent of social media, millennial parents can find and be inspired by other parents who travel with their babies and children, thus dispelling a lot of the fear and anxiety that perhaps kept previous generations of parents closer to home,” says Marianne Perez Fransius, CEO of Bébé Voyage, an online community of globe-trotting parents. “Millennials seek out experiences over stuff and so are more likely to spend on travel over products.” According to a recent survey by MMGY Global, this is especially the case for millennial families, who travel more often and more internationally than couples and singles of the same demographic.
Family First
Airlines looking to bring a family focus to their operations will need to question the assumptions that underpin their facilities and offerings. Aircraft cabin architecture prizes privacy and limits interaction, menu revamps veer toward refined cuisine and online booking platforms rarely support the unique demands of parents traveling with infants, such as booking a bassinet or purchasing a seat for a child under two. “Families have to call the airline and explain their situation to the customer service representative … I think families would greatly appreciate the ability to do all this online,” Perez Fransius explains. […]
Curating Family Fun
We’ve all heard of captive audiences, but no audience is as captive as a child in flight. “For kids, often the plane ride is just as exciting, if not more so, than the destination,” Perez Fransius says. Some airlines foster that excitement by reducing stressors with early boarding, parental controls on in-flight entertainment systems and seating families together; others go a step further, curating unforgettable experiences that highlight the magic of flight. […] “The airline industry could probably take a cue from the high-speed train in France, which … offers family cars.” says Marianne Perez Fransius, Bébé Voyage. […]
Sipala Labs / Peace Superheroes Media Appearances
Foreign Policy Magazine, Feb. 8, 2016
Can Your PlayStation Stop a War?
[…] A number of peace games, from the Peace Superheroes project to Search for Common Ground’s Battle for Humanity and Cedaria: Blackout, seek to tap into gameplay to shift audience attitudes and incentivize positive social behaviors such as civic engagement, conflict management, and diplomacy. The Syrian conflict has generated examples of interactive journalism, from text narratives recounting the struggle faced by Syrian refugees to virtual reality experiences in which one relives the Syrian regime bombing of Aleppo. These entries are among the first of the field, and they show great promise. […]
The Peace Alliance / New Yorkers for a Department of Peace Media Appearances
King Features Syndicate, Aug. 12, 2004
“A Department of Peace?” by Walter Cronkite
With this nation embroiled in what threatens to be an interminable “War on Terrorism,” an idea put forward last year by Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich has, for me, considerable appeal.
Kucinich, who was the one candidate in the Democratic primaries to unfailingly
promote the party’s traditional Franklin Roosevelt liberalism, proposed the establishment of a Department of Peace.
Now he has introduced in the House HR 2459, a bill that would establish a Peace Department, adding a new cabinet post to the executive branch of government. The Department of Peace would “advise the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State on all matters relating to national security, including the protection of human rights and the prevention of, amelioration of, and de-escalation of unarmed and armed international conflict.” […]
Tribune Media Services, Aug. 31, 2006
“Twenty Gandhis” by Robert C. Koehler
[…] Liz Graydon, a former middle-school teacher who is now education coordinator for New Yorkers for a Department of Peace, saw mention in a newsletter from Nonviolent Peace Force, which does peace work in Sri Lanka, that this Sept. 11 would be the 100th anniversary of Gandhi’s movement for social justice. Not surprisingly, “The date just jumped out at me,” she told me. It immediately became the focal point of plans to commemorate 9/11, and the stunning aptness of it has lit up the national peace network. […]
New Yorkers for a Department of Peace, in conjunction with the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, has organized 32 screenings of “Gandhi” around the country on Sept. 11, including, in New York, at the Regal Theater, across the street from Ground Zero. As far as I can tell, many other events are being planned that day, both in conjunction with and independent of the New York event, that will draw inspiration from this mystical confluence of anniversaries.
My 9 News (Channel 9) aired at 10 PM Nov. 29, 2006
Stories regarding New York City Council Resolution on the Department of Peace
Graphic: End the Violence
Anchor: A call tonight for help from the federal government to end violence in our community.
Cut to footage of NY-DOP members on City Hall steps with banner.
Voiceover: Activists are demanding the creation of a Department of Peace and Nonviolence. Legislation to form the cabinet level agency is now before both the House and the Senate.
Cut to Councilwoman Rosie Mendez.
Councilwoman Rosie Mendez: Violence has reached an epidemic proportion and when you have an epidemic, you need to find a cure. And the Department of Peace would be that cure.
Anchor voiceover: The agency would promote nonviolent solutions to domestic and international conflicts.
WFUV aired at 5:30 PM on Nov. 29, 2006
Stories regarding New York City Council Department of Peace Resolution
New York City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez is introducing a resolution backing federal legislation that would create a Department of Peace. The measure is a part of a national effort to prevent acts of national and domestic violence. The executive director of the Peace Alliance, Dorothy Maver, is optimistic about the City Council’s support:
“We are hopeful that New York City will be a leading voice in calling on our government to put a strong and consistent focus on violence prevention programs that work, making them consistently available in every city and community throughout this great country.”
The group New Yorkers for a Department of Peace is lobbying congressional Representatives and Senators to pass the bill.