In 2023, Rouen (Seine-Maritime) and its surrounding area experienced a record tourist year.
With 4.4 million tourists (who sleep at least one night there) to which are added 14 million excursionists (who generally stay half a day), the city is on the rise with an increase in order by 6% compared to 2022. “It is above all + 5% compared to 2019, that is to say before the Covid crisis”, adds Delphine Crocq, the director of the Rouen-Métropole Tourist Office .
Across the metropolitan area, 9.75 million long-term visitors have been recorded and 18 million day-trippers.
Obviously the Armada and its tall ships, which took place in June, had nothing to do with it.
Just like the Seine since the river carries its share of visitors with 900 stops by river ships recorded last year on the quays of Rouen.
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But, as Emmanuel Borla, the director of the Radisson Blu Hotel, located a stone's throw from the station, points out, "attendance is not concentrated only in the summer period, but spreads throughout the year."
He, like his colleagues, had an exceptional year in 2023.
With an occupancy rate up 9%, which reached an average of 69% compared to 60% in 2022 across the country, business was booming.
Another lesson is the return of foreign tourists, 1.9 million of whom (+ 16% compared to 2022) came to discover the historic heart of Rouen, attracted by its Middle Ages heritage but also by its museums, most of which are free. .
Without forgetting its gastronomic richness which has earned Rouen a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“The Americans are the first, followed by the Germans and the English,” explains Christine de Cintré, the president of the Tourist Office who nevertheless recalls that with 62%, the French are still the majority who come to discover the city.
“But the customer base from southern Europe, particularly Italy and Spain, is growing significantly.”
David Hockney at the Beaux-Arts in March
A phenomenon that she attributes in particular to the consequences of global warming since one of the factors which attracts these visitors is none other than the temperature, cooler in Normandy than during the summer in their country.
And 2024 is expected to see the number of foreign visitors continue to rise;
with in particular the events organized as part of the 150 years of Impressionism which will see the pop art icon David Hockney – based in Normandy – present recent works at the Museum of Fine Arts from March.
“The international reputation of Rouen continues to grow,” assures Delphine Crocq, who cites as proof the choice of the New York Times to once again place Normandy, and Rouen in particular, in its 52 places to go in the world in 2024. And if the Americans, also attracted by the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Landing on the beaches of Normandy, should still be at the top of the ranking, some major absentees should make a return: the Asian clientele, coming from China and Japan in particular .
“The first groups for whom we organized visits were in Rouen from January 1,” notes Delphine Crocq with pleasure.
And the demands for the coming weeks are strong.
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