“The first rush of the season”: for the May 8 and Ascension Bridge, tourists chose Occitanie

La foule, le 8 mai, sur les quais de Palavas. MIDI LIBRE – MICHAEL ESDOURRUBAILH

After a May 1st weighed down by gloomy weather, those involved in tourism have found a smile again: the coast triumphs, festivals and events are full, like the restaurant terraces. The hinterland is also doing well. "It was about time”, welcome the professionals, who are already looking forward to the next deadline, a last rehearsal before the summer holidays ’ ;nbsp;: the Ascension long weekend.

A thrill on May 7, then an explosion the next day with more than 3000 visitors, "like a beautiful day in August& quot;. And 4000 on May 9. At the Bambouseraie d’Anduze, Valentine Crouzet found a smile again, after weeks of lackluster. The double bridge at the beginning of May launched the season, like what restaurateurs, hoteliers, site managers and tourism players in Occitanie are seeing.

It is supported by events, the very popular Fise, an extreme sports event in Montpellier, the ferias of Alès and Palavas-les-Flots, or not.

"We had a very good start to the month of April, then we were impacted by the deterioration of the weather and temperatures, that&rsquo ;was very, very calm", recalls the manager of the exotic garden, unique in its dimensions in the heart of the Cévennes. The season is finally underway, "it's about time".

"The marvelous Ascension Viaduct"… Responsible for the Hôtel les Elmes, in Banyuls-sur-Mer, Brice Sannac, also head of the Umih (Union of hotel trades and industries) of the Pyrénées-Orientales, is all so enthusiastic. In the department,"All coastal destinations are "full” (full). Hotels and restaurants are full. His served 100 meals on Thursday at noon, and prepared 200 for the participants of the gastronomic walk "L’Ascension dans les vignes".

"You want to sleep in Collioure tonight ?" In a few clicks, he finds two rooms, and that's it, "probably cancellations, otherwise you have to wait until Saturday", for the first departures, for those who want to avoid traffic jams on the way back.

"A bridge at the beginning of the month is always better"

A9 and A709 congested, secondary roads saturated (an hour and a half to reach Grau-du-Roi from Mauguio on Thursday noon), the road has even sometimes become complicated under the pressure of the tourist influx, on roads yet free from the pressure of schools and civil servants almost at a standstill.

"We are almost full", says Sylvain Delahaussee, at the "Mer et Camargue" de Calvisson, stormed by a clientele coming mainly from Montpellier and Rhône-Alpes : "It’is the first rush of the season" .

More than one in three French people

With May 1st, 8th and 9th ideally placed in the calendar (by allowing seven days of RTT, we accumulated two weeks of leave), 2024 has transformed the traditional May bridges in viaduct, the word often comes up in the mouths of vacationers. In Le Figaro Corinne Jolly, president of PAP, the leading site for private real estate rental and sales in France. In particular, reports "37 % of additional reservations, only for the bridge of May 8 and 9". 39% of French people leave abroad this occasion, according to France Bleu, which indicates that they are ready ’ spend "on average 700 " 800 euros over a three-day weekend.

On France 3, Jean-Claude Méric, general director of the Gruissan tourist office, estimates that for each of the 30,000 nights ;are recorded &at; During the Gruissan Wind Challenge, from May 3 to 12, an average basket of 52 euros per day will be consumed. And for local players, this week is "more important than a month of Augustûucirc;u in terms of people on the station and in the restaurants".

"We are going to have three interesting weekends in a row", welcomes Xavier Labaune, director of the’ Nîmes tourist office, which is already looking towards the next Pentecost weekend and its popular feria, after the promising episode of the "Roman Days", the 3,' and May 5: "Last year, we welcomed 1.1 million people over five days", he recalls. Between two, the city could have breathed. But "there are people, lots of families, people from Marseillais and Lyonnais", he notes.

"The weather forecast plays a big role". Like the 2024 calendar: "A bridge at the beginning of the month is always better", people don&rsquo ;don't hesitate to let go, he assures. To also sweep onto the quays of Sète where on Thursday there was an impression of "never seen", certainly.

And more strangely, to reach Aven Armand, the Causse Méjan cave, in Lozère, where the 10-12° ambient did not put off visitors, not necessarily eager for the first warm weather: "At this weekend, our online ticket office was full"< /em>, indicates Dominique Laroche Dieuaide, guide in charge of cultural events on the site, who reports a little more than 600 daily entries. Far from the peaks of summer, at 1500 or 2000. But the observation is also there: "It’is indeed the start of the season& ;quot;.