
The economic climate, made worse by the European sovereign debt crisis, has reduced purchasing power and incited households to reduce their holiday budgets. Nonetheless, activity in the tourism industry remains satisfactory.
International competition in the industry is fiercer than ever. It is particularly strong from London, not surprisingly, as a result of the Olympic Games which are taking place this month. Looking south, it is the Maghreb, Tunisia and Egypt that are leading the way, tour operators using discounts as a means of reconquering tourists following the Arab Spring.The increasingly extensive use of online-booking and the search for last-minute deals has opened consumers’ eyes to a wider choice of destinations as well as types of accommodation on offer. Alternative types of lodging such as campsites are as a result benefitting from greater visibility.“It’s a year full of surprises,” explains Jacques Masson, Deputy Director of Vacances Directes, specialists in outdoor accommodation in France. "On top of the crisis, we have had to face the European Football Championship, the presidential elections, and capricious weather since the spring. Reservations have tended to be last-minute, which is new for a sector accustomed to more precocious consumer behavior.”With regards to the traditional hotel sector, the first semester shows clear differences between the capital and the rest of the country. Whilst hotel activity in Paris continues to boom with RevPAR up by 6.9%,the rest of the country has seen a fall in RevPAR of 0.6%.On a national level, occupancy rates (OR) remained stable in July at nearly 79% (up 0.7 points). Upscale hotels recorded the highest OR, at 85.6%. Increases in their average prices have slowed since the beginning of the year. Occupancy rates for economy hotels have increase by 1.6 points to 74.4%, and for budget hotels the rise is of 0.9 point to 78.9%. The upscale sector has seen a rise in OR of 0.2 points to 85.6%, whilst the midscale sector saw a fall of 0.3 points to 77.8%.Paris continues to see high occupancy rates of over 91%. Since the start of the year, foreign visitors in particular from the States and Asia (China and Japan) continue to flood in. The capital continues to be a dream destination in the eyes of international customers - a dream which is now more attainable thanks to the depreciation of the euro on foreign exchange markets.The French province had relatively mitigated results. The coastal regions in particular saw occupancy rates static or decreasing in relation to last year. The economic climate has resulted in a fall in purchasing power for households and hence a fall in domestic holidays. The Côte d'Azur saw the strongest fall in OR, of 2.1 points, "all the while maintaining high rates and in comparison to an excellent previous season", explained Vanguelis Panayotis of MKG Group.Nonetheless, communes on the border of the English Channel, in particular Dunkirk, benefitted from their proximity to London, where the Olympic Games are taking place; these saw an increase of 3.1 points in July 2012, partly due to their having hosted athletes in preparation for the event.Despite uncertain economic times, changing consumer behavior, and strong competition from abroad, the report indicates the tourism industry in France is far from in decline. Paris continues to play a leading role and even if other parts of the country are struggling, hotel activity remains satisfactory.
