Private in peak season, Calvados tourism carriers at risk

“It's zero, there is no money coming in. Marc Larzillière, the manager of Normandy car service, does not hide a certain fatalism. Stationary since March 16, his vehicles have little prospect of finding the road, despite the deconfinement. “We have contracts to transport, in normal times, tourists from the Caen Memorial to the D-Day landing beaches, or between the museums of Arromanches. These contracts have been canceled. However, they weigh 80% of the company's turnover.

The rest result from more occasional bookings. "But until September, there is nothing," laments Marc Larzillière. Employees are on short-time working, and the tax exemptions provide a breath of fresh air, however insufficient. Rent, insurance, or bank loans, coach operators' finances are in danger, despite aid.

Only school transport has resumed

Banks have, for example, postponed monthly loan payments by six months. But Steve Toutain, director of Caen Evasion, made his calculations: “From October, we will have to reimburse again. We bought twelve new school buses for the start of the 2020 school year. And our fleet of touring coaches is less than five years old. We reimburse approximately € 47,000 per month. »A very significant expense for Caen Evasion, which lost 75% of its turnover. Only school transport has resumed and brings some income to the structure.

The government, in its aid plan for tourism, "forgot tourism carriers", underlines Philippe Bonneau, Norman general secretary of the Organization of European road carriers (OTRE). “They have reviewed their copy, but we have to go further and, for example, maintain partial unemployment until the end of the year. The coach operator Marc Larzillière is pleading for a new postponement of bank reimbursements, a gesture from insurance companies, or even a gesture from local authorities to provide secure parking for coaches.

A link in Norman tourism

The players are unanimous: the sector is in danger. "The containment started when the season started," says Philippe Bonneau. The blow is all the harsher since 2020 had to be a good year, as Steve Toutain explains: “The 75th anniversary of the Normandy Landings offered a magnificent showcase in 2019. Generally, the following year benefits from this effect. The manager says it bluntly: "If there are no new measures, I will have to part with seven or eight employees. The survival of the company would be at this price.

"We are a link in Norman tourism," recalls Marc Larzillière. While supply sometimes struggles to meet the high demand in Calvados, he is worried about the overall consequences of possible bankruptcies: “What about the tourism economy without transport? In the immediate future, these professionals hope for a little thrill in September, and plan for the next season, without any certainty. "If there is no treatment, and the virus comes back, it will be difficult. Distancing already complicates many things. To transport a group, it would now be necessary to reserve two coaches. A cost doubled that tour operators may not be able to bear, still affecting a very empty book of reservations for coach companies.