Going on vacation during the Olympics: “Buyers are starting to give in to high prices”

Although two years of high inflation have been sapping household finances, Didier Arino, managing director of specialist consultancy Protourisme, estimates the French holiday budget will fall by 7% this year.

Holiday rental prices are rising rapidly, including during the Olympic Games. How do you explain this?

DIDIER ARINAUD. Industry professionals are passing on rising costs more than proportionately to vacationers. This is not a new phenomenon, we have been seeing it since the end of the health crisis. Hotels, and especially campgrounds, have absorbed significant increases in their costs, be it wages, energy or raw materials. But they also took advantage of the desire of the French to rest, disappointed by successive imprisonments, who were ready to leave at any cost. Today the professionals are doing it again. This summer we estimate growth to average 7%.

Are they taking advantage of the tourist attraction of the Olympic Games to inflate prices?

Outside of Ile-de-France and the areas where Olympic events take place, I don’t believe it. Firstly, I think the Olympic clientele is overrated. “She is not someone who will spend her holidays in campsites and hotels located on the coast. “We won’t see wealthy American or Japanese tourists wandering around France during the two weeks of competition. There will be foreign clientele, of course, but in the same proportions as in previous years.

Could such an increase in purchasing power in a crisis prevent families from leaving?

Yes, customers are starting to give in in the face of high prices. For example, mobile homes are becoming unaffordable. A night now sells for 300 euros, and in so-called premium campsites it can reach 600 euros. However, according to our forecasts, for the first time since 2019, France’s holiday budget will decrease by 7%. We can already see a slowdown in statistics. At the same time, last year there was 12% more armor. The number of overnight stays also decreased by 3%. Families are now turning to Airbnb-style furnished rentals. A change is taking place. Industry professionals must be careful not to lose people.