Every summer, Mathieu Roux organises canoe trips in the Allier gorges. A trip in the heart of nature, at the foot of the cliffs of Malmouche (Puy-de-Dôme), which takes paddlers to discover a Gallo-Roman oppidum or a medieval village ranked among the most beautiful in France. But this year, on the banks, fewer customers are wearing life jackets. “Our turnover has fallen by 25% compared to previous years”regrets this manager of Auvergne Loisirs, who employs about fifteen people per season.
Like him, many tourism professionals say they are disappointed by this summer of 2024, no doubt because they had high expectations, after two very good seasons. The month of July was particularly difficult. In Brittany, only 38% of the 1,000 tourism professionals surveyed said they were satisfied with their results for July, while between 2019 and 2022, more than 80% were, according to a study carried out by the region. More than 70% of respondents recorded a drop in their turnover. The same type of responses were found in surveys carried out in Occitania or Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Were there really fewer tourists? While the percentage of French people travelling for weekends or on holiday during the summer has changed little (at 65%, it has dropped by two points, according to figures reported by ADN Tourisme), the length of stay has been shorter and spending more limited. Until mid-August, the attendance at tourist accommodation was down 6% compared to 2023, according to figures provided by the ministry responsible for Tourism, Tuesday 3 September. It then increased again, reaching, at the end of the summer, the same levels as last year.
Uncertainties
There are several factors to explain this situation: bad weather throughout the spring and up to the end of July, which did not encourage the French to plan a holiday; political uncertainties linked to the elections, which generated a kind of wait-and-see attitude; the Olympic Games, which led many French people to postpone or cancel their holidays; a late start to the school holidays; the absence of a long weekend around 14 July… Above all, the rise in prices over the past two years, in all areas of tourism and leisure, has led to arbitrage. Among the 1,200 tourism professionals surveyed in the latest Nouvelle-Aquitaine study, three-quarters believe that tourist spending has decreased this year.
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