• In the sectors close to the fire of the Teste, the tourist season was necessarily very complicated.

  • Restaurateurs and leisure businesses such as bicycle rental companies suffered from a sudden drop in attendance.

  • Across the Gironde, the results are more mixed, particularly driven by good domestic footfall.

If a failed season may seem like a small thing compared to the 7,000 hectares of forest that went up in smoke in the southern sector of the Bassin d'Arcachon this summer, it is collateral damage that affects many businesses.

“The campsites of the dune (of Pilat) represented 22% of the outdoor hotel offer, points out Karine Desmoulin, director of Gironde Tourism.

These are 6,000 beds, so as many holidaymakers who were not present.

It should also be remembered that the authorities have taken measures to restrict access to the forest massif for the safety of the population, which have had consequences on outdoor activities, such as cycling.

“People thought the Basin was burning!

»

"I've never had a worse year, it's one of the worst seasons for more than twenty years that I've been working," says Wilfrid Cholé, manager of several brands including Arcabike and Albret bikes, which offer seasonal rentals.

If the tourists were well back the week of August 6 to 13, attendance quickly plummeted thereafter.

For this manager, the image of the Basin has been a little tarnished and the message about the fire in progress has not always gone well.

“People thought the Basin was burning,” he gets angry.

But the fire took place in the middle of the forest!

And the sand will always be there, the sea will always be there.

»

"The dune has not melted," adds Karine Desmoulin.

I say this because it is one of the nuggets, we were really asked if she was still there!

".

The director of Gironde Tourisme is part of the mixed syndicate of the Dune du Pilat and she is not at all worried about the future attractiveness of the site, even if the view there is less "green".

It reopened to the public quite early this summer and visitors were there.

A hope for the off-season

On the restaurant side, attendance fell by 40% for about ten days, in connection with the closure of the road between Biscarrosse and Arcachon and the closure of the beaches.

And then, for a month, it remained 20% below the seasonal average.

Nine restaurants were destroyed and 19 others were closed for a very significant period.

“We limited breakage in August but overall attendance is down,” says Franck Chaumes of UMIH 33, (Union des Métiers et des Industries de l’Hôtellerie).

The season is not over, we hope the weather will be with us for the off-season.

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More generally, in the Gironde department, “at the end of August, we had good feedback, even if, temporarily, there was a drop in attendance, points out Karine Desmoulin.

Domestic tourism was very present, showing that you can get away from it all by staying in your department.

“She is not worried about a possible disaffection for this territory after the fires, which only affected part of it, she recalls, recalling that the Gironde remains one of the favorite departments of the French.

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  • Bordeaux

  • Tourism

  • Fire

  • Arcachon

  • Aquitaine