INTERVIEW
In the aftermath of the traditional crossover weekend of the summer between "juillettistes" and "aoûtiens", the hour is the first assessment on the side of tourism professionals. According to Patrick Viceriat, president of the French Association of Tourism Experts and invited Monday of Europe 1, the month of July "is a small loser", while 42% of the French plan to go on vacation during the month of August.
"We are at the heart of the very high tourist season," recalls Patrick Viceriat. With 19% of departures, the month of July is "the little loser of the summer," he says, tourists choosing the priority in August, for 42% of them. However, he added, the month of July 2019 "was better than that of 2018, despite the heat wave and the rainy episodes that followed".
"Brittany will hit hard with climatic variations"
The month of July is preceded by that of September. September "is the second month of departure of the French, because the prices fall, the attendance on the sites is less, the weather is nice", confirms Patrick Viceriat. 24% of French people go on holiday during this month, especially "retirees and young couples".
At the end of a month of July marked by the heat wave, Patrick Viceriat notes changes in the behavior of holidaymakers, including the development of a "tourism of freshness". "The regions of the north, Brittany, Normandy, the Hauts-de-France, but also the north of Europe, attract more and more people," says the president of the French Association of experts in tourism. And to announce for the years to come: "Brittany will cardboard with climatic variations".
"The tourism sector is weather-sensitive"
However, he recalls, "two-thirds of French people go to the seaside", while the Mediterranean remains the main destination of the French and Europeans. But, he adds, "we can have periods with climatic turbulence that can influence consumption patterns". Before concluding: "the tourism sector is weather-sensitive".