While tourist attendance was rather reassuring this summer, for the month of September, some large cities are experiencing a 70% drop in bookings compared to last year.

The fault, in particular, to the absence of retirees. 

After an often reassuring summer in French tourist areas, the month of September promises to be much more complicated for professionals in the sector, in particular due to the rebound of the coronavirus epidemic.

Thus, in large cities such as Paris, Lyon or Marseille, reservations have fallen by 70% compared to last year. 

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The seaside regions are also affected.

In the North, in Brittany, in Aquitaine, the hoteliers record decreases of 20 to 30% for this month of September.

For Hervé Becam, president of the Union of hotel trades and industries, this situation is explained in particular by the upsurge in the epidemic in recent days, which dissuades the usual clientele, the retirees, from traveling.

"The fear, the fear of the resurgence of the disease, prevents them from traveling, from moving, and this is a major lack in our activity today", he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. " The retired clientele is not only French, it is also foreign and especially European. "

"We are completely disillusioned"

The situation is particularly worrying in the Bouches-du-Rhône, which is normally popular with this senior clientele.

In Marseille, bars and restaurants must close at 11 p.m., deplores Nicolas Guyot, manager of a hotel in the city.

"The obligation to close at 11 pm tarnishes our image, tarnishes the image of the city, which means that today, we are completely disillusioned," he regrets.

And to add: "We went from an occupancy rate during the summer of around 90% to a rate which today does not exceed 25%". 

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Under these conditions, he continues, "we are bound to have to resort once again to partial unemployment".