2023-08-20 13:36:43
From roller coasters to live shows, not forgetting gardens and aquariums, the French are more and more fond of amusement and leisure parks. Despite a year under the sign of inflation, or perhaps because of it, professionals in the sector observed record attendance this summer at some 200 establishments in France.
“2022 had already been a very good year: the parks had welcomed no less than 70 million visitorstestifies Arnaud Bennet, president of the National union of leisure, attraction and cultural spaces (Snelac) and director of the amusement and animal park Le Pal. We thought it was a post-pandemic effect, and that it would be difficult to do as well in 2023. And yet, the figures at the end of July are better than last year!» he rejoices.
Alternative to staying on vacation
Initially, the sector feared suffering the effects of inflation and the decline in purchasing power. Today, it finally takes advantage of the arbitrations of French consumers, who see in these visits an opportunity to have fun and, for some, an alternative to the more expensive holiday stay.
«The parks meet the needs and desires of the French: disconnect from an anxiety-provoking context, meet up with family or friends », continues the president of Snelac.
Located near Dolancourt, in Aube, the Nigloland amusement park anticipates, for example, a 20% increase in attendance compared to before Covid. It takes advantage of its strategic location between two highways, the A5 and the A26, to attract “the inhabitants of Paris, the north and the east of France, as well as holidaymakers, French but also Belgian and English, who go down to the South”, reports Rodolphe Gélis, director, who hopes to pass the 800,000 visitor mark this year.
Take advantage of the attractiveness of a territory
While the largest structures benefit from a national – or even international – influence, like Disneyland Paris – the small and medium-sized establishments play the local tourism card more to attract visitors. « Lhe vast majority of parks work on regional perimeters, three hours drive on average, explains Arnaud Bennet. Even Asterix (third busiest French park, with 2.6 million visitors in 2022, Ed) concentrates a very Ile-de-France audience. »
Some brands take advantage of customers on vacation in their region. This is the case, for example, of Vulcania, a theme park on the volcanoes of the Massif Central. “Auvergne is a popular destination this year, with a higher attendance rate than last yeartestifies Sophie Rognon, the director of the park. An emblematic site of Puy-de-Dôme, Vulcania benefits from this attractiveness: we show + 20% of visitors compared to the same period last year. »
Shorter stays
According to the director of the Auvergne park, « the French are favoring short stays this year and we are taking advantage of this demand by offering “two-day” tickets (at the price of 45 € without accommodation, editor’s note)”. A trend also observed by Rodolphe Gélis, at Nigloland: “Many visitors stay a day and a night (i.e. around 100 € for an adult with accommodation, editor’s note). Our hotel is full, so we are going to open a second one next year. »
In order to maintain this dynamism and ensure the return of visitors, the sector invests massively to improve the offer and offer new products regularly. “On average, 15% of turnover goes to investment», explains Arnaud Bennet.
In 2023, the new Vulcania animation, the “largest planetarium in France”, enabled management to “aim for higher attendance by 2022”, according to Sophie Rognon, with “six additional hours of programming”.
#French #leisure #parks #experiencing #record #attendance #summer