The majority of French people will spend their summer holidays in France, a refuge destination for those who are wary of the health crisis, but a constraint for long-haul enthusiasts, all sharing the same desire for greenery and space. . A total of 86% of French people - compared to 75% in 2019 - decided to stay in their country this summer, half of them indicating that this vacation will be "different" from the previous ones, according to a survey of 2,000 people per the 13 metropolitan regions.
With the confinement and persistence of the Covid-19, all the preparation for summer vacations was turned upside down: “we are 25% behind in bookings compared to last year. And there are also almost twice as many French people who do not yet know if they are going to leave, ”summarizes Didier Arino, director of the specialized cabinet Protourisme. The summer winner will undoubtedly be local tourism: "In other years, 40% of French people going on vacation stayed in their home region or in nearby regions, this year we reached 52%," says Didier. Arino.
Big spaces
"There is a tendency to look for the green and the mountains, certain interior departments have really progressed like Cantal or Lot", underlines Solange Escure, president of the federation of Gîtes de France, whose 70,000 labeled accommodations are located mostly in rural areas, which is optimistic. The campsites too: "With the last minute, July and August could approach the normal level if the weather is not bad and if we continue like that on the sanitary level", indicates Nicolas Dayot, president of the federation of the sector ( FNHPA).
In stations between 1,700 and 2,600 meters above sea level, "the filling rate is increasing by one point more than a year ago," adds the National Association of Mayors of mountain resorts, touting "wide open spaces , freedom and nature ”. "We are thinking of making an almost normal month of August, but we should lose 25% of turnover over the season mainly due to the closings in May and June," said Jérôme Pasquet, general manager of Villages Clubs du Soleil, who has five sites by the sea and thirteen in the mountains.
Overseas option
For tour operators operating outside of France, the situation is much less rosy, even if the reopening of the borders within Europe on June 15 offers a lifeline. In travel agencies, only 20% of reservations relate to foreign countries, against 66% usually. Some operators have strengthened their offer in France, others make a cross on the summer like Bravo Clubs which will not open any of its 21 sites abroad.
For long-haul, the only possible option for the French to date remains overseas, where quarantine will be replaced on July 10 by a screening test before departure. "We have real added value: people say that there will be fewer people on the islands and that they will have a pleasant holiday", notes Gilbert Cisneros, president of the tour operator Exotismes, number one in the Antilles and Reunion .
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