The freshness of the beaches of Brittany and Normandy.
This is what the French and especially the Ile-de-France residents will be looking for during the Ascension Bridge starting this Thursday, May 26.
The seaside remains a widely preferred destination for this first long weekend of the year.
The coastal departments indeed occupy all of the “Top 10” places which have recorded the most reservation requests according to a study by PAP Vacances based on 5198 reservation requests.
“The breakthrough of the departments of Pas-de-Calais (+216.4%) and Somme (+176.7%) is remarkable, they even afford the luxury of overtaking Gironde, Var and Hérault “,
points out Corinne Jolly, president of PAP.fr.
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Last minute, again and again
Traditionally, northern cities are favored for short breaks and southern destinations for summer holidays.
But the weather effect is very clear this year.
The desire for fresh air during the heat wave at the beginning of May favored reservations at the seaside (81.5%), in the countryside (11.5%) and in the mountains (6.7%), to the detriment of the city (0.3%).
“
When the weather is nice in the spring, the north benefits and if it's the other way around, it's the south.
The weather also explains why we observe for this Ascension bridge, as for other holiday periods since the beginning of the health crisis but for other reasons, again the
last minute phenomenon
, which is no longer motivated by the search for low prices,
, emphasizes Corinne Jolly.
Almost one in two people (44.1%) booked from May 9, i.e. only two and a half weeks before the departure date, compared to 30% in 2019, at the same deadline.
And this rate will undoubtedly increase further by Wednesday evening
, ”points out the professional.
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The tangible effect of teleworking
Still according to the seasonal rental site, the number of reservations for stays from May 26 to 29 is up 17% compared to 2019, but down 47% compared to 2021, when Ascension was synonymous with end of confinement.
“We observe that the French generally tend to leave more, because the balance between professional life and private life has been modified by teleworking.
Appointments with the doctor or the mechanic no longer require you to set RTTs, which can be used to leave.
In addition, many of them telecommute for a few days at the vacation spot
”, deciphers Corinne Jolly.
It remains to be seen what the impact of the price increase observed by PAP Vacances will be.
"It is mainly due to the move upmarket in accommodation, the owners having taken advantage of the confinements to carry out work, such as the installation of the swimming pool"
, she adds.
This inflationary trend could well have an impact on desires elsewhere for the second bridge of the year, which will fall on July 14th.