“I had never seen so many people doing picnic on the beach!” The phrase is from Sébastien Meric, manager of the Taverne Basque, a restaurant of Saint-Jean-de-Luzin Nueva Aquitaine (France), and although a priori it may seem a positive comment hides a feeling that worries the hoteliers of this village of the Atlantic Pyrenees as well as those of Other destinations From Spain: they arrive (almost) as many tourists as in 2024, but they think about it much more when it comes to their portfolios.
And that is a problem.
What happened? That with the summer campaign already advanced, the hoteliers of San Juan de Luz, a small commune of France famous for its traditional beaches, port and architecture, recognize having a bittersweet taste. It is not so much that tourists have stopped visiting the town and that they no longer do it with the same joy. So I know They recognized A few professionals recently to the newspaper Sud Ouestto which they admit their concern about what is promised a “mediocre” summer.
Why’s that? To start because Julio has left a puncture in the influx of tourists. According to the Departmental Tourism Agency of the Atlantic Pyrenees, last month the flow of visitors in the Basque Country French descended -1%a fall that was even more pronounced if we talk about overnight (-4%). In the whole of the Atlantic Pyrenees the demand remained stable (+1%) thanks in part to a warmer and dry meteorology of the usual.
Sud Ouest Precise That, according to the Julio Tourist Barometer, San Juan de Luz lost about 55,000 visitors, a fall that is largely related to the lower influx of visitors from other parts of Europe with respect to last year (Dutch, Spanish or Germans) but also from travelers from other regions of the country itself, such as Paris or the department of Hauts-de-Seine.
From the City of San Juan de Luz, this decline in visitors, which relate to circumstantial factors, reduces importance in any case. “Time has been unpredictable and beaches have been closed by jellyfish,” Clarify The organism, “it is better to wait at the end of summer to draw conclusions.”
Is there anything else? Yes. And that is perhaps the most interesting idea than comment The hoteliers of the region A Sud Ouest. Beyond the fluctuations in the influx of travelers, the really curious thing is that businesses perceive a contraction in spending. “Before we made a lobster barbecue per 100 euros, now we make chuletones with blue cheese sauce for three times,” confesses a restaurant, recalling that this is the second summer that does not meet expectations.
“Last year we thought it was for the Olympic Games or Bayonne partieswhich coincide with those of Pamplona, but this year is the same. ” detects New habits among veraneantes. “I had never seen so many people doing picnic on the beach!” A third place specifies that this year has encountered an “excess template.”
And what is the reason? The big question. The Agite Du Tourism 64 perceive “For the first time in many years” a decrease in the influx of customers with a high level of income (-2%) in the French Basque Country, a trend that the organism believes compensated by an increase in equal extent of the middle-class clientele. The regional press points out other hypotheses, such as a decrease in the purchasing power of tourists or the changes in the legislation that regulates tourist floors.
The New standard It puts certain limits to holiday rentals of second residences, which limits their offer and forces tourists to use hotels in which the average price per night in high season, slides Sud Ouestcan perfectly be around 170 euros. A higher expense in the accommodation would leave visitors (especially families) with less margin when it comes to allowing other extras during their vacations, such as meals or dinners in restaurants.
Why is it important? Although Saint-Jean-de-Luz is located in France his data and especially the testimony of his hoteliers are interesting because they show us another perspective of tourism. One that is not exclusive to Atlantic Pyrenees. He last balance The INE reveals a considerable rise in the total spending of international tourists (+5.5%) and the average daily expenditure, but in some regions there are also hoteliers who have alerted a billing drop.
They did recently in Diario de Mallorcathe hoteliers of Port de Sóller, in Mallorca, where they have detected a puncture of the demand in full high season. “We have gone from not having workers to overcome us,” admits the owner of two restaurants that he has had to do without employees. “This is a rebound effect after the madness after Covid. We return to the situation we had before the pandemic, but with much narrower margins.”
Images | Tourisme Pays Basque Office (Flickr) and Cylk34 (Flickr)
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