The summer season started late but is nevertheless ending well, thanks to an August that saw tourist numbers increase compared to 2023. A look at the summer figures which mark a return to normal.
Summary:
The tourist office is still in high demand
Despite attendance which varies between tourist information offices, overall attendance at the tourist office remains positive:
- 48 visitors to our premises (+300%)
- 18 requests (+050%)
- +5% phone calls
- +56% of requests by email
- + 41% of personalized stay notebooks published
Many people in our reception offices had already prepared their holidays on the internet and came to collect the documents needed for their stay.
Our stay advisors have also delivered more than 3 personalized stay notebooks to our visitors, 900 more than last summerThe success of this communication medium lies in the real-time updating and immediate availability of the requested information on the visitor's smartphone.
Free events and activities remained in high demand this summer, and we can feel that purchasing power is falling.
Tourist overnight stays on the rise
From July 1 to August 31, 2,54 million overnight stays, both commercial and non-commercial, were recorded in the Normandy Cabourg Pays d'Auge region, an increase of 5% compared to 2023. Overnight stays in Calvados remained generally stable, with coastal areas doing well.
The month of July had started the summer season timidly due to several factors: legislative elections, gloomy weather, absence of a long weekend for July 14, drop in purchasing power...
Despite everything, the summer season remains correct, with a mixed month of July in terms of attendance but an August on the rise. An increase in overnight stays mainly driven by foreign tourists who were 7% more numerous than last summer.
Source: Flux Vision Tourisme by Orange Business
Although it is still too early to assess the number of overnight stays in commercial accommodation over the summer period, we have observed to date a decline in the number of overnight stays declared in hotels, tourist residences, holiday villages and outdoor accommodation.
Conversely, rental accommodation between individuals generated 7% more overnight stays compared to last year.
Source: Liwango
After years of “record” post-Covid attendance, 2024 seems to herald a return to normal. The figures for first two quarters are going in this direction.
A tight holiday budget
In addition to the weather conditions which did not allow for last-minute bookings in the first part of the summer, inflation is one of the main factors in the decline in holiday departures and spending during the stay.
In his latest press release On the tourist balance sheet of summer attendance, ADN tourisme indicates that “faced with a constraint on their purchasing power, the French are sanctifying their holidays, but are making adjustments to their practices. Thus, 27% of French people say they have gone to restaurants less this year".
In Normandy, according to the economic survey carried out by Normandy Tourism, the satisfaction rate of tourism professionals varies considerably between July and August. Only 32% of them considered July attendance to be good (47% in 2023) while in August they were 60% (same in 2023). In the coastal sector, however, satisfaction is higher than the regional average..
The diversity of our territory is a real added value on what we call the seasonal wings. Some tourists wait for this period in order to fully enjoy our destination.
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