Tourism professionals are already rubbing their hands… This year, May 1, 8 and 9 are ideally placed on the calendar and allow the French to obtain ten days of break by taking three days off. They are therefore determined to take advantage of it and discover the tricolor landscapes, according to feedback from several experts in the sector.
“This year is rather a good vintage with 17% additional reservations compared to 2023, and 37% only for the May 8-9 bridge,” observes Corinne Jolly, president of PAP. “If weekend prices are more expensive than in February, they are on the other hand less expensive than in summer,” adds the specialist. She also notes that many Ile-de-France residents and Northerners are moving towards the sea, particularly in Vendée, Morbihan and Charente. “Given the length of the stay, it is necessary to find an easily accessible destination, where the stay will not be reduced by more than half a day of transport, as is the case for the southern region, particularly for an Ile-de-France resident, explains Corinne Jolly, it is therefore logical that we see regions such as Brittany or Normandy triumphing.
If the sea represents 76.5% of market share, the French are also heading towards the countryside (11.6%), the mountains (6.4%) and abroad (5.5%), specifies a study of PAP. An observation shared by Gîtes de France, which lists several popular destinations, including Vaucluse, Pas-de-Calais, Côte d’Or, Finistère and Doubs. “With an average of 83% of the occupancy rate at the national level for the weekend of Ascension and Pentecost, Gîtes de France records very good rates for the season,” notes the company. The desire to go into nature is also highlighted by Airbnb which states that “interest in domestic stays in rural areas continues to grow”. “Stays in more remote places, outside major cities, are also increasing,” adds the multinational.
Some lucky people also take advantage of the May holidays to go abroad. Turkey, Tunisia and Greece are among the most popular destinations for this period, indicates Cdiscount. “For the past week, departures in May have constituted 43% of files compared to 30% at the beginning of April,” comments the group to Le Figaro. “This year, our customers are waiting for a good deal at the last minute. We are more on a trip of opportunity than on a planned trip,” insists Cdiscount.
Every year, these May bridges are widely appreciated by the French. “Last year, between Friday April 28 and May 2, more than 1.4 million people took a flight from France,” underlines Airhelp, a company defending air passenger rights. Among these travelers, “nearly 350,000 people took the plane to go to other French regions”. To explain these flows, Airhelp specifies “that domestic tourists seek to enjoy a few days of leisure and vacation or to return to their city of origin to spend time with their family”. After domestic flights, Spain and Italy also attract thousands of French people in search of warmth and sun. It remains to be seen whether the weather will be nicer than the last few weeks, to (finally) leave the gray of winter behind.