"You have to wait a little longer"
before booking your end-of-year vacation.
This is the slogan given by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, this Wednesday.
Read also: SNCF is preparing to run its trains for the Christmas holidays
"I believe that we must, even if it is complicated, to wait a little to have very precise data, to be able to give the modalities on how this Christmas time will unfold"
, he declared, questioned by BFMTV.
A week earlier, the Secretary of State, however, encouraged the French to
"organize"
their vacations and travel and to do so
"with confidence"
.
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne ensured that health professionals have committed to reimbursement without penalty from consumers in the event of cancellation due to the coronavirus epidemic.
This Wednesday, he confirmed this effort on the part of tourism stakeholders, in particular
"some of the air and rail sector"
but nevertheless called for favoring late or even last minute bookings for the end of year holidays.
"Many tourism players tell us that they prefer to wait a bit to have clear data from an epidemic point of view to know what this Christmas time could look like"
, he said.
100% of trains between December 15 and January 4
In a series of Tweets, the Minister for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, also spoke about travel for the end of year celebrations.
"If you want to book your train for Christmas, you can"
he said on Tuesday, adding that
"100% of the trains from 12/15 to 01/4 are open for booking now"
and
"tickets will be refundable without charge until the last day ”
.
But he also added that
“the health situation remains fragile - I am not telling you anything.
It is only according to its evolution that we will be able (or not) to lift the travel restrictions ”
.
On November 12, Jean Castex had himself considered that it was
"a little early"
to get his train tickets.
If the Prime Minister hopes that the health situation will allow "
a new relief at the time of the Christmas holidays, so that the French can spend the end of the year holidays with family",
the family reunions
"will not be able to be held in the same way way than usual ”
, he had qualified, adding that it would be
“ unreasonable ”
to organize
“ big parties for several dozen people ”
.
