Where have the Ile-de-France residents gone on vacation?
Thanks to unpublished data, provided by the operator SFR
(see methodology below)
, Le Parisien analyzes to what extent our Christmas holidays were upset in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.
Fall in travel abroad and renewed interest in the mountains in 2021 after a revival of the sea in 2020 are all phenomena to observe.
In detail, they show department by department what the developments have been.
The foreigner logically in retreat
Between 2019 and 2021, the number of Ile-de-France residents who went abroad for the Christmas holidays fell by 28.5%. This is "nothing" compared to the 55.7% drop recorded over the same period between 2019 and 2020. Direct consequence of the pandemic: most borders to foreign countries were closed in December 2020, while the vaccination was just beginning in a few countries, forcing the French on Franco-French holidays.
In 2021, the concern and uncertainties around the Omicron variant, the establishment of compulsory isolation on arrival in some countries, or even the closing of borders again in others, have also slowed down travel to the 'foreigner. But some have still benefited from it: the number of Ile-de-France residents who went abroad last year, compared to 2020, increased by 61%. In addition to Île-de-France, the inhabitants of Oise have particularly favored elsewhere: according to figures from the operator, their presence has jumped, over the same period, by 79%!
“Due to health constraints and closures, foreign countries have been affected”, confirms with the Parisian Didier Arino, general manager of the Protourisme cabinet.
But, notes the expert, “certain destinations without health constraints, the islands in particular, have had great success”.
An observation impossible to make with the only figures of SFR since the telephone remains most of the time off when one leaves the European Union, due to overbilling of communications.
Back to skiing and the Christmas markets
With ski lifts closed during the Christmas holidays, the mountain could only suffer in 2020. According to figures from SFR, the attendance of Ile-de-France residents in Savoie and in the Hautes-Alpes, departments rich in ski resorts, had dropped respectively 47.6% and 39.1%. Same thing in Isère (- 19.40%) in Haute-Savoie (-18.60%) or in the Hautes-Pyrénées (- 17.60%). Known for their Christmas markets, canceled due to the pandemic, the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin had also seen their attendance by Ile-de-France residents drop by 39.9% and 26.7% in 2020, compared to the previous year.
Logically, in 2021, these departments find colors.
The reopening of the ski slopes as well as the return of the Christmas markets have thus enabled Ile-de-France residents to return.
Savoie, Haut-Rhin, Hautes-Alpes and Bas-Rhin thus recorded attendance by Ile-de-France residents in 2021, compared to 2020, up by more than 50%, and up to 102% for Savoie!
"Beyond skiing, there was a strong desire for the mountains, even without skiing", explains Didier Arino, noting in this dynamic "a catch-up for the year 2020".
Frequentation of Ile-de-France residents during the Christmas holidays
Savoie and Haut-Rhin are even doing better than in 2019, with an increase of 6.1% and 13.3% in attendance by Ile-de-France residents between the Christmas holidays of 2019 and those of 2021. A detailed analysis of these figures show that it is mainly Parisians (+ 17.1% between 2019 and 2021 for Haut-Rhin, + 8.8% for Savoie) as well as the inhabitants of Seine-et-Marne (+ 19 .1% and + 8.1%) which allow this outperformance.
Coincidence, or not: it is these same inhabitants whose attendance abroad is declining.
The sea had replaced the mountain in 2020
Another lesson from the figures provided by SFR: the sea had been acclaimed in 2020… for lack of mountains and skiing.
Thus, Charente-Maritime, Finistère and Morbihan had seen their attendance of Ile-de-France residents increase by more than 15%.
We must add to this list the departments of Côtes-d'Armor (+ 14.8%), Vendée (+ 14.5%) and Var (+ 12.6%), which like most maritime departments , welcomed a lot of people in 2020. Like a boomerang, however, all of them recorded between 2020 and 2021 a drop in their attendance by Ile-de-France residents, up to – 10.4% for the Vendée department alone.
Attendance by Parisians during the Christmas holidays
The finding for 2020 is particularly true for Parisians, whose attendance in Charente-Maritime, according to SFR data, had jumped by 38%. Morbihan, Finistère, Côtes-d'Armor and Var are all departments which also received a number of Parisians over the Christmas holidays with attendance, compared to 2019, up by more than 28%. Unfaithful to the sea, the Ile-de-France residents? Didier Arino sees it differently: “The figures are still better than ten years ago, but beyond demand, there is a supply problem with many things closed during this period on the coast. »
Have the territories of France become a new permanent destination?
"Since the Covid-19, there has been a real desire for holidays in France, in the territories, more identity, more in connection with the local heritage, the know-how... explains Didier Arino.
There is a quest for meaning that will remain, ”says the expert.
Although there “will always be people who need their share of dreams with an all-inclusive formula and an artificial destination.
»
* SFR estimate of the change in the number of people between the ages of 11 and 79 who stayed at least one hour in a department if they lived in Île-de-France.
Data provided by SFR Geostatistics.
SFR Business puts statistics from the mobile network at the service of the tourism, transport and local authorities sectors, in compliance with privacy and Cnil/GDPR regulations.
