2023-06-20 13:35:58
According to tourism professionals, the destinations that are experiencing the strongest growth are those that suffered the least from the high temperatures last year.
As we know, the French have absolutely no intention of sacrificing their summer holidays despite inflation. But another variable comes into play: the climate. Do the risks of heat waves, drought, restrictions linked to these conditions, in particular for swimming pools, modify the choices of consumers for their holidays in France?
The answer is yes according to tourism professionals interviewed by BFM Business. Abritel.fr (house and apartment rentals between individuals) thus confirms “a strong interest in regions that are not known for their high temperatures”.
Concretely, the platform notes that the coast of the North-West quarter “is experiencing the strongest increase in searches for holiday rentals compared to last year with nearly + 25%, from Pas-de-Calais to Loire-Atlantique passing through Normandy and Brittany”.
The Pas-de-Calais, the Channel, Brittany are full
Pas-de-Calais is experiencing the strongest increase in searches ahead of the English Channel, Côtes d’Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine and the Somme (searches carried out from January 1 to April 28, for stays between July 8 and September 4, 2023, Ed).
“These destinations are the ones that suffered the least from the hot weather last year,” said Xavier Rousselou, spokesperson for Abritel.
If the question of the weather comes into play, Abritel also points out that these destinations “happen to be more affordable than those in the South, holidaymakers there paying on average a rental price per night in July-August 30 to 50% lower” .
Same tone at PAP.fr where, to date, reservations for rentals in Brittany and Loire-Atlantique are up 13.6% while those for the Côte d’Azur have fallen by more than 21%.
For the departments of the South Atlantic, the decline is 7% and 9% for Languedoc or 12% for Vaucluse. The record drop is in Corsica with -30% over one year.
“From the Charente and to the North of France, all destinations are winners”, notes the platform.
Still, the presence of a swimming pool can change the situation. Reservations for a house with a swimming pool on the Côte d’Azur are down only 8.7% over one year.
The success of these seemingly “temperate” destinations is confirmed by the annual holiday barometer produced by Ipsos for Europ Assistance.
If “the PACA region is still at the top of the most popular regions (24%), Brittany is entering the top 3 this year with 21% of intentions to go there” can we read.
In campsites, the question of swimming pools
France offers the first campsite park in Europe and second in the world following the United States, with 7,500 campsites, including 3,900 with a swimming pool area. Example in the Pyrénées-Orientales which is already experiencing drought alerts and where more than half of the campsites are equipped with swimming pools.
“If we close the aquatic areas, there is a collapse in tourist numbers in these campsites and in surrounding tourist activity”, assures AFP Nicolas Dayot, president of the National Federation of Outdoor Hotels ( FNHPA).
Measures have been put in place by the prefecture and by tourism players in the region to drastically save water but without having to order the closing of swimming pools.
All the campsites in the Pyrénées-Orientales have also made a commitment through the Departmental Federation of Outdoor Hotels to take measures to reduce their water consumption by 30%.
What to reassure vacationers?
The prefect of Pyrénées-Orientales, Rodrigue Furcy, told AFP in early June that he had noticed “an air hole in reservations”. “But here we go once more”, he added, while the president of the local campsite federation Paul Bessoles underlined “good resilience” from the customers.
“We had a little break in early July, people were afraid of not having the swimming pool, we received a lot of phone calls”, confirms Joëlle Faille, manager of the Front de Mer, a campsite in the region.
However, the trend is indeed in the quest for freshness. According to the Campings.com booking platform, “there is a clear decline for hot and dry destinations” with -17% for the Pyrénées Orientales, -27% for the Var.
Conversely, the west coast is a hit with +11% for Finistère, +16% for Morbihan, +12% for Vendée and +29% for Charente-Maritime.
Vacationers anticipate and are also looking for rentals equipped with air conditioning. Example in Hérault, where 64% of customers have booked accommodation with air conditioning, this is 16 points more in one year.
Abroad, are hot destinations scary?
Among distributors of package holidays (flight + hotel) abroad, the risks of extreme heat do not seem to cool the French.
Lidl Voyages, for example, explains to us that Tunisia, Greece and Spain occupy the first 3 ranks of the most booked destinations outside France.
Same trend for Promovacances/Fram where the Mediterranean basin represents 35% of total sales. But we find Brittany and Normandy in the top 5 of sales.
At PAP.fr, on the contrary, reservations to Spain fell by almost 11%, including -18% in Andalusia.
Olivier Chicheportiche Journalist BFM Business
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