Tourism in South Aveyron: “If the weather stabilizes, the season will be good”

Pour l’agence touristique du département les taux de réservation sont “très encourageants”, en particulier pour le mois d’août”. Midi Libre – Archives

After a rather bad month of June, professionals are banking on the summer break to find some color. With optimism but also some concerns.

Chilled by the month of June and its flood of bad weather, tourism professionals in South Aveyron are gradually regaining color. For the launch of the summer season, the first summer visitors seem to have braved the last frosts of an extended autumn to pitch their tent in the south of the department.

"Here we go, validates Laëtitia Raisin-Robert for the Millau Grands-Causses tourist office which sees the territory swell with its new, but highly anticipated, first wave of summer visitors. "We are currently welcoming customers from Occitanie. Then will come the German and Dutch tourists, the more Franco-French clientele, then the Belgians and Spanish families at the end of the financial year." Enough to put a smile back on your face after a very/too humid June.

"Catching up on June"

“Unfavorably impacted by stormy and rainy weather, the month of June did not benefit this year from a longer weekend. According to the tourism professionals interviewed, the current political context, with the announcement of legislative elections, has also led to a slowdown in travel and a postponement of stays until the end of June, recalls the Departmental Tourism Agency. The Adat which is nevertheless reassured by reading the summer booking rates, more specifically in the outdoor hotel sector. “Very encouraging”, “especially for the month of August”.

Optimism in deception ?

Optimism in deception for the Union of Trades and Industries of the Hotel Industry (Umih) which prefers caution to the game of predictions. “We a l’hope, confirms the head of South Aveyron Yannick Chopin, if the weather is on our side we should have a great summer. But we won't make up for lost time after a rather bad month of June."

In the hotel industry, other indicators raise questions. "In hotels, there are already a lack of people on weekends. The foreign customers who used to stop off in Millau before continuing further south are not there. And this is not linked to the national context", validates Yannick Chopin.

Customer volatility

Same observation on the catering side: "Quite optimistic before the start of the summer, many restaurateurs had hired in anticipation of& rsquo;a nice turnout. But many have been forced to sideline certain employees because the meeting with customers is not there."

Another concern is finally the "volatility" of tourist customers who can cancel their reservation at any time if the weather is not good. An additional factor of uncertainty for a sector, we see it again this year, still very dependent on the thermometer.

Treat the attractiveness of the city center to attract the “camping” clientele

Nestled in a cocoon of calm and greenery, the customers of the many campsites in the area are not those who travel the most. By strengthening the range of services, managers do everything to satisfy guests who, for some, do not even set a toe outside the limits of the place.

"There remains a small fringe of people who go out a little, but it’s not the majority, confirms the Umih manager who would like to be able to benefit the city center economy from this providential windfall. How ? By also inviting traders   play the game!

"It must be said, I think that we lack dynamism in terms of opening businesses in the evening. I'm not talking about catering, because we're there, but about traditional businesses", maintains Yannick Chopin. And to drive the point home: "Rather than opening ’ 2 p.m. when it's 40°C, maybe it's better to open from 5 p.m. 11 p.m. in the evening… hellip; To be able to to attract customers from campsites and elsewhere."

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