In recent years, the French have traveled less abroad
According to a survey conducted by the Protourisme research center, 47% of French people (or 31.5 million, 1.3 million more than last year) intend to go on vacation this summer. Other features are as follows: first, the French plan to spend more on vacation than a year ago; second, the number of citizens spending their holidays in France has once again increased, while the number going abroad has fallen; third, even more representatives of the "lower middle class" will be forced to forgo a vacation trip altogether.
Data from Protourisme and the Ipsos/Europ social service show that the vacation budget of an "average family" (four people) will increase by 5-10% this year. According to Protourisme, those vacationing in France plan to spend 1,787 euros over "10.5 days" (the average vacation duration) – over a hundred euros more than last year. Those going abroad plan to spend 2,856 euros, also over a hundred euros more. Ipsos/Europ data showed roughly the same figures (considering that the survey did not distinguish between those vacationing domestically and abroad): 2,200 euros for an "average family" vacation.
When choosing a vacation destination, the French have always been guided by the "principle of import substitution" (which is understandable: after all, France is the world's top tourist destination), but this year an even larger number of people plan to spend their holidays at home.
According to Ipsos/Europ, only 17% of French people will go abroad this summer (three years ago it was 19%). The number of people wishing to vacation abroad has fallen by 200,000 compared to last year, notes Protourisme. And even those who leave the country do not plan to go far: they prefer Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and the Maghreb countries (Tunisia, Morocco).
The vast majority (78%) of those vacationing in France intend to travel to their destination by car.
As noted by RFI, 40% of French families plan to go on vacation to their relatives (many of whom live near the sea), while the number of those renting hotels or campsites has been "declining significantly" over the past three years, reports RTL radio.
The decline in the number of people wanting to rent campsites is due to the fact that these traditionally "popular" vacation spots have increasingly become 4-5-star in recent years, reorienting themselves, among other things, toward foreign audiences ready to spend more. And since the number of foreign tourists in France is constantly growing, campsite owners are only benefiting. Unlike the French from the "lower middle class" and even more so the poor.
In recent years, the "lower middle class" has been forced to cut spending, and this is often done at the expense of vacation, notes sociologist Jérôme Fourquet in an interview with Le Figaro: "And in a society that places special emphasis on leisure, where vacation is a must-have, giving up a vacation is a very painful marker of declassification." Moreover, social networks, where "lucky ones" post vacation photos, now intensify the feeling of frustration among those who could not afford a trip.
Another reason forcing representatives of the "lower middle class" to forgo vacation is the sharp increase in travel costs. This applies both to those who decide to travel by car (as fuel prices and toll road rates have risen significantly in recent years) and those who travel by train. The state railway company SNCF, which once played a "historic role in democratizing vacations in France, now increasingly behaves like airlines, adjusting prices according to demand," notes sociologist Jérôme Fourquet. And since demand in the summer months, especially July-August, skyrockets, prices become "prohibitive" for many low-income families.
Another reason the "lower middle class" increasingly spends vacation at home is labor market instability. Employers are increasingly offering workers permanent contracts (CDI) less often, preferring to give temporary ones (CDD). In conditions of uncertainty, some prefer to save a couple of thousand euros for a rainy day instead of "blowing" them on ten days of vacation. If there is anything to save.
What poorly rested people are capable of, we all saw last fall and spring, when the French authorities barely managed to "dampen" the fire of protest. No one can guarantee that the fire will not flare up again after the vacation season. And President Macron, who retired to Fort Brégançon on the Côte d'Azur for vacation on July 25, should certainly keep this in mind.
Incidentally, according to a survey conducted by the Qapa social service, 67% of French people fail to forget about work even on vacation.