The Côte d'Azur suffered in July-August "
the most serious crisis
" in its history in terms of tourism revenue, recording a shortfall of 600 million euros, said Monday the Regional Tourism Committee (CRT) French Riviera.
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The CRT Côte d'Azur, which covers the Alpes-Maritimes department and the Principality of Monaco, counted just over 6 million tourist stays during the summer of 2020, compared to nearly 12 million in previous years.
Previous crises had never resulted in a drop in turnover of more than 7%, compared to 46% for 2020.
The organization also notes that to the drop in attendance is added a 13% drop in the average expenditure of visitors in July-August to 63 euros, which is, according to the committee, not only linked to the health crisis. but is part of a cyclical trend initiated in 2017.
Over the whole of 2020, the total shortfall for the Côte d'Azur in terms of tourist revenue is estimated at 2.5 billion euros, notes the CRT, which considers "
urgent to strengthen the attractiveness of the destination on the national market
”.
Regarding performance by type of establishment, furnished rentals are performing well with an occupancy rate of 69% in July-August, up two points compared to 2019, while hotels the coup with an occupancy rate of 68%, down 15 points, tourist residences falling by 7%, to 78% occupancy rate.
Read also: Tourism companies are sinking into the crisis
Unsurprisingly, the CRT Côte d'Azur notes, regarding the origin of visitors, that the largest drop concerns foreign stays by plane in commercial accommodation, which fell by 85%.
If the French have also come in greater numbers, they have favored low-cost rental accommodation and less densely populated areas.
The CRT finally reports short-term prospects oriented downward, citing a very strong deficit of reservations which announces, according to this organization, a "
difficult
"
winter season
.
