Due to the health crisis, summer 2020 should give pride of place to French destinations where wide open spaces and the mountains are legion. A trend that can already be seen in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, where the business volume of Gîtes de France fell from -24% at the end of May to -16% in mid-June.
Emmanuel Macron announced it on June 14: “As of tomorrow, it will again be possible to travel between European countries”. guest of France 2 on June 19, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, confirmed this desire for openness. “The idea is to be able, from July 1, to put on the table a list of international countries where we can come from, where to go. It’s a very intense job that we made between Europeans”he says.
While the politician encourages both the member countries of the European Union and the French “to tricolor tourism, to a blue white red summer”, difficult to ignore the advertising campaigns currently deployed by many departments to bring their tourist attractions up to date. A trend seems to stand out: the offer of the mountains and wide open spaces.
The great spaces to conquer the French
The Gorges du Verdon, Lake Allos, the lavender fields, the Col de la Bonette… It is partly on these places conducive to a change of scenery and walks that the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department bets. On June 5, the territory rolled out a plan to relaunch tourism activity on a national scale. Since that date, and for a total duration of three weeks, two advertising spots presenting local attractions will be broadcast as part of a television campaign and another cross-media campaign.
“With a budget of nearly 2 million euros, this will be the largest campaign ever carried out in France for the promotion of our territories.”, the statement said. This sum includes another three-week broadcast, which will be carried out at the end of August for the off-season. “Each year, we have an action plan intended to promote the destination, but it was more focused on thematic fairs, such as that of the hiker, for example”presents Isabelle Desbets, in charge of press relations within the Tourism Development Agency of the Alpes de Haute-Provence.
In the current health context, the operation has been completely reviewed. “We had to take into account all the fears that holidays can cause, therefore by highlighting the very natural character and the wide open spaces of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence”she continues. Objective: to win back the French, but also to attract local customers by hosting day trippers who usually come for a day. “The idea is to say: ‘Stay longer, spend part of your vacation here, and if you have to return urgently for health reasons, you are not far from home'”, summarizes Isabelle Desbets.
“This year, the whole two months are reserved”
While it is still too early to have precise figures on the effectiveness of the campaign, there is “only good feedback”particularly on the side of the Union of Trades and Industries of the Hotel Industry (UMIH) 04 and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. “We have rather favorable indicatorsconfirms the press relations officer. For more than two weeks, and especially in parallel with the launch of the promotional campaign, things have been moving quite a bit.”.
A positive trend that does not seem to be solely due to the recovery plan. “Normally, reservations for the summer season are anticipated between July 15 and August 15. This year, the whole of the two months is reserved”, she rejoices. She attributes it to the will of “to secure” holidays, faced with the uncertainty that until recently surrounded departures from France. “For us, it has a virtuous effect in terms of visibility over the season in accommodation and campsites”says Isabelle Desbets.
“We are starting to make reservations rather than cancellations”
At the Gîtes de France 04, the relief is felt. “We are all very happy and super motivatedsays Myriam Douaïfia-Biette, sales manager. Our activity is returning to normal: we are starting to make reservations rather than cancellations”. Compared to last year, all the figures are up: reservations are “in advance” in June, July and September, with an occupancy rate higher by 1.5% to 3%. “Even if it’s positive, I don’t think it’s very significant: 2019 turned out to be catastrophic”underlines our interlocutor.
At the end of May, the business volume of Gîtes de France 04 was around -24%. “It is now at -16%; the gap is narrowing, it is very encouraging”, notes Myriam Douaïfia-Biette. She also notes a lot of calls from local customers, especially from Bouches-du-Rhône and Var, as soon as the confinement is released. “They concerned the weekends of late May and early June, which were longer due to public holidayssays the sales manager. This local clientele has also contacted us for longer stays during the summer, ranging from 7 to 10 nights. Maybe with the crisis, the French don’t want to go too far?”.
Health concerns still “fairly high”
For Sandra Hoibian, no doubt: the confinement has induced a change in the holiday habits of the French. And this, “in many ways”. “The first is surely the strongest. It is the economic crisis that is looming, and which will have a significant impact, since going on vacation is extremely linked to financial issues: this represents up to 8% of the budget of low-income familiesassures the director of the Evaluation and Society pole of the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (Credoc). With the increase in unemployment and the end of short contracts, it is certain that there will be fewer departures on vacation”.
The expert also discusses the consequences of health concerns. “They remain quite high: we can touch them with the proportion of French people who say they wear a mask”, reports Sandra Hoibian. As a result, vacation spots such as the coasts, where many people usually go and where contact seems inevitable, are now less attractive.
“In addition, the offers are changing: as festivals and gatherings are closed until the start of the school year and living conditions on the beaches are still uncertain, those who favored these destinations will probably move on to othersays the expert. It’s not easy to know which way it’s going to be, but the French will probably go less to the coast and more inland.”. A boon for departments such as Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
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