2023-05-10 09:30:02
As summer looms, the desire to escape does not fade. After the post-Covid-19 recovery, which strengthened in the winter of 2022, the French confirm, through the first reservations as the summer holidays approach, their enthusiasm for travel, including outside France. And this, in spite of a purchasing power that is increasingly eroded by persistent inflation.
At the end of March, the summer season was already starting under good auspices, according to the Syndicate of tour-operating companies (SETO), which held its congress in Deauville (Calvados), Tuesday May 9 and Wednesday May 10. At this stage, the member companies of this federation are showing a 44.1% increase in reservations and therefore in activity compared to the same period in 2022, with unit revenue growing by 6.2%. In terms of traffic, medium-haul flights increased by 39.2%, long-haul by 43.4%.
“We are pleasantly surprised by the figures”declares René-Marc Chikly, president of SETO, while the gloomy context marked by inflation, the strikes against the pension reform, the energy and climate crisis as well as the conflict in Ukraine could have given rise to fears of a recoil.
With regard to the rise in prices, the tour operators were able to partly control it (around 8%) thanks to their group purchases made a year in advance. In addition, “some hotels, damaged during the Covid-19 crisis, have reduced prices, particularly in the Maghreb and Egypt”, he adds, specifying that this is no longer really the case in southern Europe. However, inflation should hold up, which augurs well “future double-digit increases over the next few months”warns the SETO boss.
North Africa catch-up
Among the destinations for the coming summer, the great classics still hold the upper hand, with a predilection for mainland Greece and its islands, followed by the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. North Africa confirms its catch-up started in winter 2022. From 1is November 2022 to March 31, 2023, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia have indeed regained their privileged position, just behind the Canary Islands. “Egypt is back to full speed”, confirms the SETO expert, emphasizing that this concerns both Nile cruises and resort destinations in Hurghada or Sharm-el-Sheikh.
On the long-haul, the United States (+29.5%) and Canada (+70%) present themselves to date, and despite an unfavorable euro-dollar parity, as the flagship destination of the summer season . Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, also remains highly sought after. In the winter of 2022, it already recorded strong growth in its orders (+ 87%), which propelled it to second place in the ranking, behind the Dominican Republic. Then come the French West Indies and Mexico, while in Asia, Thailand has experienced a meteoric rise.
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