Tourism professionals in France said on Saturday they expect a good tourist season despite inflation, as several sites and amusement parks open for the Easter weekend.
"
I wouldn't be surprised if we did better than 2019 in terms of revenue, which was a record year,
" Jean-François Rial, CEO of the Voyageurs du Monde group, told France Inter.
“
Today the indicators are green.
We have very good levels of reservations
, ”reported for his part on RMC Arnaud Bennet, president of the Syndicate of leisure, attraction and cultural spaces (Snelac).
"
We find the levels of the best years
," he added.
Jean-François Rial explained that "
because of inflation, the income is excellent
", the cost of travel to ten "
flagship countries
" for Voyageurs du Monde having increased by 15% to 20% compared to 2019.
"
Today you have a little less customers, but much more income
", affirmed the CEO of Voyageurs du Monde for whom "
the tourist activity has never worked so well in the world
".
However "
business tourism is having a little more trouble returning to the level of what it was
" before the health crisis and Chinese tourists remain largely absent, particularly in France, explains Jean-François Rial, who is also the president. from the Paris tourist office.
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Recruitment difficulties
In Paris, "
the last occupancy rates I saw were around 85% to 90%
", he says, adding that they may have dropped slightly due to the images of violence and garbage can fires which punctuated the demonstrations against the pension reform.
"
The impact is real, there are real cancellations, it's obviously not good
" for Paris and France, believes the CEO of Voyageurs du Monde, but ensuring that "
it will be marginal over the year, at unless it lasts six months
”.
To cope with the influx of holidaymakers, the tourism sector is still facing recruitment difficulties, but “
overall the situation has improved compared to last year
”, according to Arnaud Bennet.
The president of Snelac is however cautious: "
We will have to see how the season goes, there are still positions that are available in the sites
", he nuances, acknowledging that the situation is still tense in the restoration and the hotel industry.
