“Difficulty paying my rent”: in Sète, the drop in tourist numbers impacts beach bars

Le bar de plage la Praia, sur la plage de la Corniche à Sète. Midi Libre – PHILIPPE MALRIC

La mi été arrive bientôt, l’occasion de faire un premier point sur la fréquentation des bars de plages sétois qui connaissent une saison en demi-teinte.

“Purchasing power, the Olympic Games, early legislative elections and, above all, the weather has been unpredictable…” From his beach hut La Parenthèse located on the Lido beach in Sète, Sébastien Granier lists the elements that, according to him, can explain the gloomy tourist numbers since the start of the summer season. “It's not a very good season,, he notes, we are down compared to previous years, but that's the case throughout the city.” The owner of the beach bar admits to being today in “expectation” regarding the month of August. “Certainly it is a little difficult, but we are not at the point where we should part with our seasonal workers'', he tempers.

Same feedback from La Vita, formerly Les Pieds dans le Sable. "There has finally been an increase in attendance since last week", rejoices an employee of the straw hut installed on the Corniche beach. It has nearly 200 places, including the restaurant and outdoor area (sofas, deckchairs). A gentle start since the weather conditions at the beginning of the season would have put off most customers.

"Very bad results"

For Elodie Moran, manager of La Voile Rouge, the month of August will not alleviate this "very bad"balance sheet. She launched the season at the beginning of April and has since deplored a 35% drop in her turnover compared to 2023. “I have already applied to my banker for help for the off-season, she anticipated. I know I will have difficulty paying my rent.” Outside of the weekend, only half the restaurant is full. However, tourists are indeed flocking to Sète. Elodie explains this paradox by a lower purchasing power and a limited budget for those who came only for the Olympic Games. “People will limit themselves to one restaurant per week, so you have to rely on luck.” The weather also comes into play. La Voile Rouge had to hurriedly close for several weekends because of the rain.

“It's not euphoria”

This season in "half-tone", as it is customary to say, many seaside establishments are feeling it at the end of July. Like Claude Herzog, manager of the La Ola straw hut and head of the beach bar union, who makes the same observation of a "general decline in attendance over the years". However, he sees the rest of the season in a positive light. “At the moment, we are seeing a slight increase in activity compared to May and June: summer has finally started and the weather is nice.” While confiding that it is still “not euphoria”. For him, it is the backlash of the post-Covid years that explains, among other things, this public disaffection for beach bars. “People consumed a lot after the pandemic, now it's a bit over.”

Changing consumption habits

Claude Herzog also puts forward another argument: that of the “changing consumption habits”. “The straw huts are perhaps not as fashionable as they were at one time: we will have to think about reinventing ourselves.” Furthermore, the head of the beach bar union wants to be clear about his situation: “We are not in the red or in trouble and there is no question of getting rid of seasonal workers”. Before concluding with a touch of optimism: “We are progressing every day in terms of attendance, tourists will arrive and it will fill up. I'm pretty confident about August.”

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