It is one of the jewels of Charente-Maritime.
The island of Aix, located not far from the island of Oléron and the island of Ré, has many assets.
In addition to a breathtaking view of Fort Boyard, the small crescent of land concentrates a diversity of landscapes and seems to offer a welcome tranquility.
However, the "little Corsica of the Atlantic", as some like to call it, is a victim of its own success.
This summer, it experienced peak attendance at 8,000 people per day (while the island of barely 1.19 km² has just over 200 inhabitants year-round).
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An overcrowding from which it suffers, to the point of wanting to get off the radar of tourist promotion, tells us
Sud-Ouest
.
Mayor Patrick Denaud and his deputies are now proposing that their territory engage in a process of tourist “demarketing”.
Indeed, attendance on the island continues to increase: +20% between 2013 and 2018, then +15% between 2021 and 2022, welcomes the Urban Community of Rochefort Océan (Caro).
Not enough to rejoice the municipality, which has pointed out several problems, such as an insufficient number of public toilets or even trampling of sensitive land.
So many difficulties that have an impact on the reception of visitors, but above all on the natural resources of the island.
Read alsoOléron, Ré, Aix or Madame: which island to choose in Charentes?
Two hour wait for a table
“This summer, the queues to take the ferry or eat in restaurants have been impressive, with up to two hours waiting for lunch. Friday, November 11, the boat refused people. I heard a lot of people complaining, some were furious”
, reveals the mayor to our colleague.
Also, the lack of respect shown by some visitors compromises the preservation of the island environment in the long term.
Faced with this observation, Patrick Denaud asks the artistic direction of Caro to favor
“realistic, honest and not idealized communication”
.
As Sud-Ouest
reveals
, a working meeting on this subject must be organized on December 1st.
Could a limitation of access to the island be considered?
If no decision has yet been taken in this direction, the approach would not be unprecedented.
Evidenced by the symbolic example of the creeks of Marseille.
Sugiton thus experimented for the first time this summer with an online reservation system, in order to limit the number of visitors per day to 400.
Others have also been keen to limit advertising of their territory.
This is the case of Belle-Île-en-Mer, in Brittany, which recently refused to hold a ceremony to highlight the GR 340, elected "favorite GR of the French" in 2022. The reason?
The overcrowding of the island during the summer which had undesirable effects on its environment.
