Tourism in Cap d'Agde: Mayor Sébastien Frey launches a broad consultation for the fall

La fréquentation du Cap d’Agde (ici lors du meeting de la Patrouille de France) est scrutée de près. MIDI LIBRE – MICHEL DESNOS

Le maire l’a annoncé cette semaine, à l’occasion de l’inauguration de la place du Môle au Cap d'Agde.

A general meeting of tourism, no more, no less. Although Sébastien Frey, Mayor of Agde for the past few weeks, did not formulate it in this way, it was in this spirit that he publicly announced the holding of a broad consultation next autumn, “between private and public stakeholders” of a sector that obviously remains the main economic resource of the municipality and, more broadly, of the Hérault-Méditerranée region.

A snapshot of the situation

This announcement, as August draws to a close, allows the mayor to mark his territory eighteen months before the 2026 municipal elections. A child of Cap d'Agde, he is of course very attached to the resort and does not intend to spare a snapshot of the situation, fifty years after the creation of Cap d'Agde, “which remains the leading seaside resort in Occitanie and France, due to its capacity to accommodate. Currently, we are 30,000 inhabitants year-round and we have 220,000 friends who come to live with us (in summer, Editor's note). It changes our habits a little, it's true, but it's also our wealth, our resource and it should be our pride."

A leading station in France

Easy to say when you spend hours stuck in traffic jams ranting about holidaymakers, but the observation is known to all: without tourists, Agde would not be what it is today. “And Cap d'Agde must remain a leading tourist destination in France”, warns Sébastien Frey. Which is still the case, as the attendance this August shows, but European competition is tough in terms of tourism, with destinations such as Spain, Italy, Croatia and Greece continuing to attract French and foreign customers. “We, all tourism stakeholders, must be able to lucidly set out the terms of a reflection that we must open up and which must lead to decisions so that 21st century tourism, respectful of the standards of the time, particularly in terms of the environment, is debated and decided”, explains Sébastien Frey. Who announces that “as of this fall, we will open a meeting with tourism stakeholders, in order to build the future of the resort. So that it remains not only an economic driver of our region, but also a leader in France. Two and a half months of work, at the end of which we will outline the future of tourism in Cap d’Agde."

Professionals: ideas to put forward

Which is perhaps going a little too fast, but at least the professionals, not the last to “rouméguer” and to criticize the management of the resort before making their own self-criticism (high prices, very uneven reception of tourists depending on the addresses…), will they be able to express their grievances, their ideas especially, to advance a debate that aims to be constructive. Will it give birth to ambitious and courageous decisions? That's another story.

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