Things must be tough in Britain at the moment – it was reported that in 2009 the number of foreign trips taken was down 15% on 2008 (worldwide, not just to France which ‘only’ suffered a 10% drop) and seven million people from the UK decided to forego their annual holiday. (Previously the biggest drop in foreign travel was 2.1% in 1985.)
It seems certain that 2010 is sure to be worse than 2009 – visitors that arrive tell us of empty ferries, and the markets and attractions are certainly much quieter than normal for the time of year. Likewise, the percentage of Brits staying in our own gites is lower than normal – Dutch, Australians, Canadians, Americans and others are still travelling but the Brits are becoming a rare species.
Is everyone staying at home to do a spot of DIY and sit out the recession or are Cornwall and the Lake District completely choc-a-bloc, I wonder? Curious thing is, those Brits that manage to rustle up a few euros to visit France say that the actual total cost to come here is less than going away in the UK – you might have cheaper shopping in the UK but accommodation and eating out are definitely more expensive.
The only cloud on the visitor’s horizon is the cost of travel to get here. Ferry prices are reasonable, I understand, but both flights and car hire seem to be as high (or higher) than ever. How can that be? No idea.
The ‘last minute rush’ which usually takes place in June when people suddenly realise they can’t bear to go without a holiday seems to have been killed off by David Cameron’s austerity budget, and rumours that people were rushing to book foreign travel after England left the world cup seem to have been an invention of the travel industry.
Good news for those that do come to France this year, there is less traffic on the roads, less queues to enter attractions and less hassle finding a restaurant! And with the pound recovering at least a little bit against the euro it’s probably the best time to visit France in the last few years.
And what’s more, down here in the south of France at least, the weather is great – and set to stay that way for the time being. Those of you staying at home to tile the bathroom this year are missing out on a great time – just thought you should know!
Boris.
We have massive debt that the coalition is determined to reduce. So people are having to spend less as the debt reduction bite into people income. The tourist trade in Norfolk for short stay guests is seeing a dramatic increase. The weather has been very hot of late. So take all these factors as the country starts to live within its means again and there will be a few years of retraction. The EU of course is increasing its spending as it lives in another world to the rest of us.
PS we cannot even afford to tile the bathroom.
And now the dollar is dropping in value I suppose that the Yanks will all stay home too…
Certainly there seem to be fewer tourists here than in previous years. Our bookings are slightly down on last year (which was a good year) and we had to discount to get some last minute stuff, but overall our feeling and the general feeling in the Vendée is that the season is going to be passable.
Your comment on the flights & ferries hits a chord. As would be expected, once the low-costs had beaten off the competition the prices in real terms rose steeply. Car hire is stupidly expensive and charges for cleaning are now the norm. The majority of our guests are travelling by ferry this year, as they did last year.
And for all the bull one reads on various forums about how cheap the UK is for, well, everything, it is noticable that we still get plenty of comments about how inexpensive fresh foods, restaurants, parking & attractions are in France.
Jon said
“And for all the bull one reads on various forums about how cheap the UK is for, well, everything, it is noticable that we still get plenty of comments about how inexpensive fresh foods, restaurants, parking & attractions are in France.”
In GB it depends where you live.
If you have to shop at supermarkets due to lack of other choice or time, then you pay through the nose for freshh foods that have been kept in deep chill for far too long and to me are not good.Where we live we use market towns.
We live about 8/10 miles from 3. The parking is free in 2 of them and the produce at the open air markets is as good as anywhere and is much cheaper and fresher than supermarkets.
I think restaurants in GB are very expensive and they do not serve meals anymore but an “eating experiences”. Attractions are so expensive in GB and much better value in France.
I love in france how you will find a local cafe or small hotel that does the dish of the day. It is such good value and is a proper home cooked meal.I hope they continue to exsist.
I am sure France is changeing. I never thought i would see the day when you could buy sliced bread in supermarkets, and it is not as easy to find good bread as it used to be. It is almost impossibe in GB but we make our own.