Mélanie Faure 1:19 p.m., December 29, 2021, modified at 1:21 p.m., December 29, 2021

If tourism professionals welcomed the return of French tourists in December, the next few weeks remain uncertain. Difficult to plan a vacation due to the coronavirus pandemic and the tightening of health measures by the government. Jean-Pierre Mas, President of the Syndicate of Travel Companies returns to the microphone of Europe 1 on these winter forecasts.

After nearly two years of limiting their travel, the French are back on the road to vacation. If the month of December records good figures, after the reunion at the end of the year, tourism forecasts for the month of February remain unclear. For the French, it is out of the question to book their next stay now in the context of the coronavirus pandemic which is pushing the government to toughen health measures. This is not without consequences for the tourism sector. 

"We are 1/4 of the reservation level for the same date in 2019", details at the microphone of Europe 1 Jean-Pierre Mas, President of the Syndicate of Travel Companies.

"There is a three-quarter fall. The French do not anticipate their vacation. They are taken by the anxiety-provoking climate which does not encourage them to make long-term travel decisions."

The government "alongside" French tourism

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister Delegate in charge of Tourism, and guest from Europe Midi, puts these figures into perspective. The Minister explains that the behavior of the French "evolves with the crisis". "The Gîtes de France are booking 7 points more than in 2019, in December, before the crisis," he explains. "The Logis de France are at + 20% in December. There has been a rebound in French tourism this summer, this fall and this winter again." And the ski resorts also see the queues lengthen at the bottom of the chairlifts in December "with 9/10 stations satisfied", according to the Minister. The stations suffer, on the other hand, from the absence of British customers. But there too, for February, the French have not achieved anything.

>> After a blank year, ski resorts are in full swing

The coronavirus is causing travel restrictions in France and abroad.

The numerous cancellations of trips and the closing of establishments had strongly influenced the French economy and tourism professionals, some of whom are still going up the hill.

In Marseille, a restaurateur based in the Old Port is already deploring cancellations for the New Year's Eve party on December 31.