Argelès-sur-Mer (France) (AFP)

"For now, it's the same vacation as always". In the dozens of campsites in Argelès-sur-Mer, the posters recalling the barrier gestures against the Covid-19 go almost unnoticed in the middle of the water slides, bottles of rosé and games of pétanque.

The crowds at the beginning of August are not the same as in previous summers, however, and the closure of campsites in April and May has severely affected the sector which will take "several years" to recover.

But the main concern of the managers of establishments in the immediate future is to juggle as well as possible between health protocol - wearing of the obligatory mask in closed places, limited gauge in swimming pools, cancellation of dance evenings - and the well-being of holidaymakers. .

"After a long confinement, there is among holidaymakers this deep desire to say + I no longer think about the virus, I relax, I enjoy +", indicates to AFP Jean-François Bey, president for the Pyrénées-Orientales and Occitanie of the Federation of outdoor hotels.

Black bikini and sunglasses on her nose, Jade Custos is leaning on the edge of a swimming pool in one of the largest campsites in this Mediterranean seaside resort, near the Spanish border.

"It's been seven years that I come here with my parents and for the moment, it's the same holidays as always. The only small difference is that the nightclub is closed", regrets this 18-year-old Ile-de-France.

- "We will go anyway" -

The threat of the virus lurks however and the managers of the 48 campsites of Argelès-sur-Mer, whose population (10,000 inhabitants) is multiplied by nearly 15 in summer, fear that their establishment will become a cluster.

Although there are no more hospitalizations linked to the coronavirus in the Pyrénées-Orientales, cases of contamination are increasing on the other side of the border. The French Prime Minister even advised his compatriots against going to Catalonia.

Thus, to have a clear conscience, the Le Front de mer campsite has decided to remove the deckchairs around the swimming pool, at the risk of upsetting holidaymakers.

"Some customers have complained, they do not understand why we are doing this, while other campsites have kept the deckchairs", emphasizes Joëlle Faille, the manager of the establishment.

Smile on her lips, she confides today that she is "very moved" to see holidaymakers bathe in the swimming pool adorned with plastic bottlenose dolphins, because for her, as for the entire sector, the reopening this summer was far from being a certainty at the height of the epidemic.

"The campsites which are doing the best are those of medium size, based on a French clientele and proximity. The larger establishments, used to receiving a lot of foreign clients, have more difficulties", explains Mr. Bey.

This is the case of La Sirène campsite, where the Irish, Belgians and Dutch usually represented nearly 45% of the clientele, according to Thomas Lauchaume, sales manager of the establishment which can accommodate up to 4,000 people.

- "In survival mode" -

Lying on a synthetic turf near the swimming pool, Silvy de Jong, her husband and their three children still wanted to spend their holidays in Argelès-sur-Mer, the "European capital" of camping, "like every year since. 10 years".

"In the Netherlands, too, we have the Covid-19. And here the weather is nice, there are large spaces, we feel safe," said the mother of the family.

But many others preferred to postpone their stay until 2021.

"We are all in survival mode, even if very happy to open. Each day that passes is a day won", says François-Xavier Besson, the manager of the campsite Le Méditerranée, counting this season on -30% of turnover. case.

“Financially, it will take about five years to recover. We do not go through such a crisis as if nothing had happened,” he sighs.

Despite everything, the occupancy rate was 60% to 80% in July depending on the establishment, and will be from 85% to 95% in August, according to Mr. Bey, who believes that the outdoor hotel industry "knew s 'adapt to the new situation ".

Also adapting to the protocol in force at the campsite, Jean-Claude Platerier, 64, enjoys a beer in front of his motorhome, far from the crowds. "My son didn't want me to come this year. But my wife said + we will go anyway +, like every summer for 32 years", laughs the retiree from the North.

© 2020 AFP