Tourists were indeed back in France this summer, according to an Insee study published on Tuesday 11 October, which franceinfo was able to consult. The occupancy rate in hotels and campsites from June to August 2022 was 3% higher than the level of 2019, the reference year before the health crisis.
>>> Covid-19: After two years of pandemic, tourists are returning massively to Paris
Good news for industry professionals: commercial accommodation has once again become the main accommodation type for tourists, a trend that began in the summer of 2021. Hotels, campsites, private rentals are therefore preferred over second homes or trips to family or friends.
According to the study published by INSEE, twice as many overnight stays are booked by “residents” as paid by foreigners. Among this international clientele, INSEE notes the return of the Americans, “helped by a stronger dollar against the euro”. The British are back too, but so are the Dutch, the Germans and the Belgians. These last three represent “the main international clientele of campsites for many years”, “even more present in the summer of 2022”.
On the other hand, some foreigners still avoid France or don’t go there: they are Russians, Chinese and Japanese. “These three international customers account for 1% of foreign hotel visitors in the summer of 2022, compared to 7% in 2019,” INSEE specifies in its report.
Last aspect raised by the statistical office: expenditure. They’re up 7% compared to 2019, but INSEE is tempering that number due to high inflation. In the summer of 2022, “the consumer price index for hotels, motels, inns and similar accommodation was 13% higher than the price level for the same period in 2019.” This increase is 87% in restaurants, bars and cafes.