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Tourism: the countryside and the middle mountains acclaimed by the French

2020-08-30T09:37:14.391Z


Certain areas such as the Vosges, Jura, Dordogne, Ardèche, Aveyron and Lozère attracted a lot this summer.Sports activities in the heart of nature, cultural and gastronomic visits far from the crowds drained by the coastline: many French people have adapted during this summer of 2020, marked by the coronavirus pandemic. Read also: Going to France: the madness of the villages! With drastically reduced air links abroad, the countryside and the middle mountains have attracted a lot, in particular " are...


Sports activities in the heart of nature, cultural and gastronomic visits far from the crowds drained by the coastline: many French people have adapted during this summer of 2020, marked by the coronavirus pandemic.

Read also: Going to France: the madness of the villages!

With drastically reduced air links abroad, the countryside and the middle mountains have attracted a lot, in particular " areas with the image of a preserved destination such as the Vosges, Jura, Dordogne, Ardèche, Aveyron. , Lozère ”, summarizes Didier Arino, Managing Director of the Protourisme cabinet.

In July alone, overnight stays for all accommodations in France, excluding the coast and urban areas, thus jumped to 129 million against 122 million a year earlier, according to the most recent data from Protourisme.

In Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, “ the postcard is the sea, the coast. But, the mountains have never had a better season than this year, ”assures AFP the president of the Regional Tourism Committee, François de Canson. In the Hautes-Alpes, with 366 million euros in revenue (+ 11%), the record has been broken.

In the Vosges, " last minute bookings allowed a good catching up ", but the results are contrasted between the plain and the massif, analyzes the tourism observatory of the departmental council. The Jura experienced " 100% occupancy rate in the rental sector " between July 20 and August 22, " which had never happened before ", according to Jean-Pascal Chopard, director of the departmental tourism committee.

Everywhere on the territory, cycle tourism (+ 30% attendance of the 3,500 km of cycle routes in Pays-de-la-Loire) or via ferrata (route built in a rock wall, Editor's note), such as the areas of lakes, rivers suitable for rafting, canyoning or canoeing, have been very successful.

Furnished rentals, lodges and small hotels

While a number of events and cultural events were canceled, activities “ linked to gastronomic and culinary traditions, such as a visit to the Beaufort cheese cellars or the Espelette pepper workshop, or to heritage, with the discovery of small châteaux, have experienced significant growth, unlike major sites or wine tourism, which depend on foreign customers, ”notes Didier Arino.

While furnished rentals such as Gîtes de France or one- to three-star hotels have often been full, campsites and holiday villages have lagged behind in summer 2019, and high-end establishments, deprived of foreign tourists, have seen their activity drop, sometimes sharply.

On the Airbnb platform, housing in rural areas " was 80% rented by French people against 60% in 2019. They left less far, longer and with their families, in houses with gardens, " AFP told AFP its director of French activities, Emmanuel Marill.

In Normandy, the usually peaceful commune of La Hague, at the northwestern tip of the region, has experienced an unprecedented boom in frequentation on its wild coasts. In Brittany, the summer offered " a breath of fresh air to professionals ", without however allowing them to " compensate for the losses of spring " according to the regional tourism committee. As for " the resumption of the circulation of the virus in France ", it " stopped the desire for late vacations ".

In Pays-de-la-Loire, " the media coverage of the health situation in Mayenne in the heart of summer " has caused " up to 80% cancellation of reservations from foreign customers ", according to the agency. economic development. As for the off-season, it promises to be gloomy: " We know that the third age will not leave and that foreign customers will not be there, " said Laurent Barthélémy, president of Umih, the main union in the hotel and catering industry in New Aquitaine.

Source: lefigaro

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