- The lavender harvest has started on the Valensole plateau, in the Alpes de Haute Provence.
- Foreign tourists are not very numerous compared to previous years, but some Italians, Belgians and Germans still enjoy the landscapes.
- Fortunately for traders "the French play the game" and consume local.
Despite the Covid-19 crisis, selfies are still used in the lavender fields in Provence. On the Valensole plateau, in the Alpes de Haute Provence, the epicenter of the lavender culture, about fifteen kilometers from Manosque, the harvest has started since the beginning of the week.
On the roadside between Manosque and Valensole, where budding photographers, as advised, rush to have the perfect photo in order to amaze social networks, French license plates, replaced those of Italy, of Belgium, and Asian tourist coaches. “There are no foreign customers like the other years. Even the Italian clientele which represents around 60% of our turnover is not there. We are lucky that the French are playing the game and come to admire lavender ”, explains Laetitia Angelvin, lavender producer for 4 generations on the set.
"Especially premises"
But this influx of French tourists will not make up for the absence of foreign tourists. “At that time, the other years, the shop is full. There it is half empty. These are mainly locals, from Marseille, Nice, Var. And since the beginning of the holidays of the people of the north. They rediscover our landscapes, it had been years since they had come because there were too many people. There they find nature and they want to have fun, so they consume ”, is satisfied all the same Laetitia.
This is also the case of André and Dominique, who came from Fréjus, in the Var for the day. “It's the first time we've come here to see lavender. In other years we did something else, we went abroad. It feels good to get out of the city, get some fresh air and see these landscapes. With us at the water's edge, it's crowded so we preferred to come to the hinterland, "explains the two sixties.
Lucia, Alexis, their daughter Lys and Alexis' parents, Christine and Olivier, come for the first time to see the lavender fields. They all come from Paris and have rented a house in Manosque. “This is the first year that we have spent our holidays in France, we usually spend them abroad. We couldn't take the plane so we fell back on this opportunity. And we are not at all disappointed to have stayed in France, Provence and its landscapes are unique in the world, it is an opportunity to discover things that we did not know. Apparently there are fewer people than usual and the photos on Facebook and Instagram are a hit, ”they rejoice. Especially with Lucia's parents, in Uruguay, true lavender enthusiasts who do not grow there.
"Lavenders are beautiful this year"
A little further down in the village of Valensole, the terraces fill up at lunchtime. But it is not yet the usual crowd. “It has nothing to do with last year, especially for the attendance of foreigners. It's a shame because the lavenders are beautiful this year. Usually we have three, four, buses of Italians a day, there are mostly locals or Belgians, Germans and still some Italians. This is my 46th season, I still have one or two left, and I'm a little worried, ”concedes the generous Cathy of the Modern Galleries.
At the time of the opening of the tourist office, an Italian woman comes to look for a map of the surroundings. “We often come here, the landscapes are magnificent. And especially for the rosé, it is excellent, ”jokes this tourist. Florence, the occasional manager of the Valensole Tourist Office, who was not to open in the face of the crisis, explains that this year "more qualitative than quantitative". And that seems to make her happy. “Finally, local customers consume more than Asian customers for example. There are some Asian tourists but they are mostly young people studying or interning in France. We note that many locals come to see the lavender fields for a homecoming, in a natural setting after this confinement. They are rediscovering their region, ”observes Florence, who concedes not to stop for a minute since the tourist office opened in mid-June.
Emma and Ambre, from the Tray Market, share Florence's opinion. “We had more French at the start, and since the start of the holidays the Italians, Belgians and Germans have come back a little. We don't really feel the lack of other tourists because with the confinement the French have got into the habit of consuming locally. We sell organic olive oil, organic lavender essential oil, products that do not necessarily interest American or Asian tourists, while with the locals there was a real awareness ” , they explain. The lavender harvest should still take around three weeks, which is enough time to welcome tourists. And the visits to the distilleries continue until the end of the summer, even if the harvest is over.
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