September benefited from a longer summer season, a phenomenon that is being confirmed each year. While the season tends to begin later it is also coming to a close later. In a depressed economic context, the French remain, study the expense, and prefer online reservations after comparing prices, but nonetheless they have regained the road to the major summer tourism destinations, on the French Riviera in particular. “Competition from seaside resorts in Croatia and North Africa were not felt quite as strongly as last year,” confirms Mme Chevreuil, Sales Director of the 4* Hôtel Splendid in Nice. “As if the trend had got a bit out of breath. Moreover, in terms of congresses, Nice’s great competitor is Barcelona. Sometimes it carried away the stakes, but this year, we did! The SIRS medical congress in September helped us considerably. We were also able to observe the return of American clientele in significant numbers, and the arrival of more and more Norwegians who are enjoying increased buying power. This compensates for the desertion of Italians who are buying more and more secondary residences in the region, competing with the hotel accommodations. This did not prevent us from having a good summer that finished with a flourish.”As for winning cities, Lyon also benefited from major international congresses, such as the cardiology congress or Patrimonia. A single observation may be made about Strasbourg with two parliamentary seminars, but to a lesser extent nonetheless. “September was much better than last year, which was a real catastrophe, but it wasn’t fabulous, far from it,” tempers Magalie Wiedemann, director of the 3* hotel Mercure Saint Jean Centre. “Individuals and corporations alike are keeping an eye on spending. So we are seeing a shift from 4* to 3* hotels, which is advantageous to our property, but also –and...