Geoffrey Branger 06:06, August 08, 2022, amended at 06:06, August 08, 2022
The hotel and catering industry is back with its usual summer customers.
Foreign tourists are back in France, and reservations are exploding.
A real engine of French growth for a few months, the sector is coming back to life after two particularly complicated years.
Europe 1 went to a hotel near the Eiffel Tower.
After two particularly complicated years due to the health crisis, foreign tourists are back in France, and reservations are exploding this summer.
In this hotel, which is almost full, about 80% of the clientele comes from abroad, and in particular from North America.
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A situation that had not happened since the start of the health crisis, even if the number of visitors is not the same depending on the country.
“Asian and Russian tourists have not yet returned to the capital despite a strong comeback from American, Canadian and Middle Eastern customers,” explains Valentin Porot, director of accommodation and reservations for the Inwood group.
A necessary return for the finances of the hotel
Even if the clientele is a little different from usual, this return is welcome for the finances of the establishment which had to increase its prices by 15 to 20% because of inflation.
According to Valentin Porot, this increase "follows the global market", because "all of Paris has increased its prices".
For the accommodation manager, the advantage of this clientele comes from the fact that they "potentially have greater purchasing power, who will spend more than French clients. From a purely economic point of view, this is relatively interesting," he concludes.
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- After two summers marked by the Covid, foreign tourists are back in Paris
These tourists are essential to relaunch the activity of the capital.
As for restaurants, reservations increased by 32% compared to last year between mid-June and the end of July.