2023-12-24 17:01:42
By Julien Da Sois
Published 26 minutes ago, Updated now
Among the most popular destinations, we find “Alsace for the Christmas markets”, particularly that of Strasbourg, explains Solange Escure, general director of Gîtes de France. Nicolas Roses / Nicolas Roses/ABACA
Gîtes de France are recording “record occupancy rates” for these 2023 Christmas holidays, while mountain resorts are also seeing an increase in reservations.
The magic of Christmas is in full swing this year for Gîtes de France. The national network of lodges and guest rooms records “record occupancy rates» for these 2023 Christmas holidays, its general director, Solange Escure, welcomed Saturday on Franceinfo. Three out of four accommodations (75%) are in fact rented for these end-of-year holidays.
Among the most popular destinations for vacationers, we find “Alsace for the Christmas markets», the most famous in France. But also the North, as well as obviously mountainous departments like the Vosges or Savoie. The French obviously want to ski. “Reservations are up 3% compared to winter 2022-2033, which was very good in terms of attendance and occupancy of commercial accommodation, and less in terms of skier days. People obviously need to decompress,” affirmed at the end of last week at Figaro Jean-Luc Boch, president of the National Association of Mountain Resort Mayors (ANMSM).
«Currently, reservations are excellent, especially for this Christmas and New Year period,” confirmed Saturday on Franceinfo Patrick Provost, president of the National Observatory of Mountain Stations (OSM), specifying that “Over the week of Christmas, but also the week of New Year’s Day, we have an average of 75% reservations, with an increase of two points over the week of Christmas.
Read alsoChristmas holidays: a busy weekend on the roads and in stations, the SNCF expects a million travelers
Want to ski… and also sun
For mountain resorts, the Christmas holidays therefore present themselves under the best auspices, despite a train supply considered insufficient. The ANMSM denounces a “shortage of trains» penalizing, both for attendance and for the carbon footprint of ski holidays. The trains offered for sale at the beginning of October were all taken by storm: “Impossible to find a train at the last minute to go skiing», deplored to the AFP Jean-Luc Boch.
For its part, the SNCF responds that, on winter holiday weekends, “the TGV fleet is fully mobilized“, with “the maximum number of trains available” available. More generally, all destinations combined, the railway company specified on Friday that “more than 4.5 million trips have been booked to date on long-distance trains – TGV Inoui, OUIGO and Intercités – for the Christmas holidays», Figures slightly increasing compared to 2022.
At Gîtes de France, we observe that a more exotic destination is doing well this winter, Reunion, denoting a “want the sun» of the French, according to Solange Escure. “Despite prices still rising, mainly because of air travel, the French want to look elsewhere, to change their minds. confirmed in our columns this week Valérie Boned, president of Travel Companies.
This observation of a good tourist season ahead for the Christmas holidays is not shared by all stakeholders. Like PAP Vacances, a seasonal rental platform from individual to individual, which notes “a drop in the number of general reservation requests» by 8.6% compared to 2022. Result, according to the site, “budgetary tensions due to rising inflation“. An almost general decline, with the exception of the Alps (+11.4%) and Spain (+22.9%).
”
data-script=”
>
#good #season #tourist #accommodation