Both parties expressed their satisfaction with the preliminary results for 2010, which were satisfactory because, despite the general economic situation and increased international competition, the Côte d’Azur remains an attractive destination, more than ever popular with tourists from around the world.
Here is the summary table:
The 2010 summer season on the Côte d’Azur: a satisfying attendance profile on the azure coast:
- Slightly up compared to summer 2009 in major cities and the inland areas,
- Stable in small and medium-sized resorts.
- In the Upper Country, the level of attendance is less satisfactory, as the influx of visitors was delayed and the core summer season did not fill up.
This evolution in tourist flow along the coast aligns with the trend towards recovery, particularly from foreign demand, observed since the beginning of the year. In fact, tourist demand has been consolidating month by month since May, gradually compensating for the effects of the crisis.
To note:
Generally, there is no risk of experiencing a bad summer season for the Côte d’Azur. In the past, summer assessments have remained satisfactory even during the strongest years of crisis (2003-4, 2008).
This is mainly explained by:
- A very strong demand for seaside holidays from all over Europe, supplemented by the passage of numerous non-European foreigners who visit France and focus on Paris and the Côte d’Azur, must-see stops,
- A stable offer of beds over the past fifteen years, without a situation of overcapacity.
Return of foreign clients…
The most striking phenomenon of summer 2010 is the undeniable return of foreign clients, especially non-Europeans, to the Côte d’Azur. Almost all foreign markets are on the rise, with the exception of the British.
I – Double-digit growth in emerging markets:
The clients from emerging long-distance markets, who have higher budgets, are returning in force, with an average growth of 35% over the period from May to July, allowing a return to pre-crisis levels.
This includes visitors from:
- Asia excluding Japan (hotel-residence overnight stays +30% in May-June-July, and +65% for Chinese hotel overnight stays, the highest growth among markets),
- South America (+28%),
- Australia (+31%)
- Russia (+36% for hotels): The Russian clientele remains strongly attached to the Côte d’Azur and is growing, reaching a new absolute record during this period, with professionals also reporting strong growth in August.
- The Middle Eastern clientele, very important for luxury hotels, was present from May due to the Ramadan dates falling in the heart of summer this year (+59% in May-June-July).
II – Resumption of the North American market:
The increase in the purchasing power of the dollar against the Euro (by 20% since the end of 2009), is a positive factor and stimulates the recovery of the North American market: Hotel and residence overnight stays +19% in May-June-July.
III – European clients:
- The Italian presence on the azure coast remains strong, with proximity largely favoring the Riviera. Overnight stays from May to July are stable, and professionals report a sense of stability for August.
- The German market, the largest issuing country in Europe, is once again buoyant, and the Côte d’Azur is regaining favor. German hotel and residence overnight stays increase by 20% in May-June-July. Austrian overnight stays increase even more, by 50%. Scandinavian overnight stays also increase by 20%.
To note:
The return of high-spending foreign clients is confirmed by the growth in sales revenue from foreigners at Galeries Lafayette stores in Nice and St Laurent du Var, up 27% in July 2010 compared to July 2009, with a trend continuing in August.
The clients showing the largest increases in shopping expenditures are Australians, Scandinavians, Russians, Brazilians, Belgians, and Canadians.
It should be noted that foreign turnover at Galeries Lafayette in Nice reached an all-time record this year since… 1916!
The British market has been hit hard by the crisis and has greatly reduced its presence on the Côte d’Azur (overnight stays fell by 21% in 2009 and declined again by 11% in the first half of 2010 as well as during the May-July period).
IV – Return of wealthy domestic clientele this summer on the Côte d’Azur:
French stays in 4* or 5* hotels increased by more than 20% in June-July and lasted a little longer, resulting in a 30% increase in French overnight stays in 4 and 5* hotels in June-July!
(+27% in the first half).
Main results
Since spring, there has been a clear trend towards recovery in visitor volume, and month by month the tourist flow strengthens, reaching the level of 2007, even if overall results still appear below previous peak years.
Overall evolution of summer attendance (June to August)
(including preliminary estimates for August)
An overall increase of 6%, with +4% for French and +7% for foreigners.
These growth rates will be exceeded if the trend observed in the pre-summer season continues into the post-summer season (September).
I – June 2010:
For all accommodations, the month of June saw an attendance increase of about 6% compared to 2009.
II – July 2010:
- An average hotel occupancy rate of 80%, up 4 points from July 2009, and identical to 2007 and 2008.
- In the mountains, the rate is 54%, identical to July 2009, but lower than 2008.
- In tourist residences: an average occupancy rate of 82%, identical to that of previous years, with an 11% gain in terms of actual overnight stays, as apartments were occupied by more people, sharing the cost of accommodation.
- Luxury hotels:
This year, it is particularly the hotels that benefit from the evolution in demand.
Hotel occupancy gained 2 points in April-May, 5 points in June, and 4 points in July, with very good rates, 71% in June and 80% in July.
The palaces report a strong return of luxury clients allowing them to maintain high prices.
Qualitatively, the evolution is also positive, with better performance for 4 and 5* hotels that benefit more from the recovery (72% occupancy in June, 83% in July, provisional data).
III – Expenditure:
However, all types of visitors combined, the average daily expenditure remains stable since the beginning of the year but is perceived by professionals as lower at the beginning of the summer, notably for the French.
As last year, tourists tend to limit their consumption of catering and paid activities, and even this year, their accommodation.
It also appears that, in an effort to limit the cost of their stay, visitors have reduced the duration of their stay on the Côte d’Azur.
The average stay duration by plane in July thus decreased by two nights (from 10.5 to 8.5 nights).
IV: Transportation:
Regarding the flow by means of transportation, it appears that visitors come slightly less often by plane and more by vehicle or train.
The volume of stays by air visitors thus declined by 8% over the period May-June, but increased by 7% in July (-3% over the cumulative three months). However, at Nice Côte d’Azur airport, traffic losses recorded at the beginning of the year were cushioned month by month, and the total traffic (including resident departures) for July only shows a slight erosion of 0.6% compared to 2009.
In the first half of August, total airport traffic is slightly down, by -1.9%.
Meanwhile, business or private aviation traffic at Nice Côte d’Azur is experiencing strong growth (+16% from May to July).
One of the main visit sites, Marineland, indicates a slight decrease in attendance in July, but a very satisfactory August which should exceed the scores of the past two years, with exceptional attendance days that the park had not seen since 2002.
A few other results
- In the cruise segment, after a record summer in 2009, June and July present stability in the total number of cruise passengers, with an increased share for Monaco.
- Generally, cultural events have been hugely successful, both on the coast and in the Upper Country.
- In museums and visit sites, the trend for June-July is positive, with a total entry increase of 4%. It is slightly negative in parks and gardens.
- In the Upper Country, the total attendance at 6 of the most visited sites (including Musée des Merveilles, Saorge Monastery, Alpha the Wolf Time) indicates a 6% decrease in the number of entries in June-July.
- More economical accommodations seem to suffer from a certain disenchantment by budget-limited clients. Thus, the trend appears negative in campsites, and this is uniform across the entire PACA region (one in two campsites in PACA noted a decrease in attendance over the period mid-July to mid-August compared to 2009. Having said that, it should be reminded that in the Alpes-Maritimes, the offer remains limited in this type of accommodation and the summer season (May-September) generates about 1 million overnights in campsites each year, compared to 5 million in hotels and 2 million in tourist residences.
- The attendance of Gîtes de France is negatively evolving this summer (total overnight stays), for the second consecutive year, consistent with the weak summer demand in the mountains. However, a satisfactory occupancy rate of about 76% was achieved in July.
The Côte d’Azur event scene celebrates artistic, musical, natural diversity, leisure, and the discovery of the Department
The 2010 celebrations:
In 2010, the Côte d’Azur was the setting for numerous celebrations of the natural and cultural heritage of the Department, particularly resonating internationally:
- 30 years of the PNM
- 50 years of the Fernand Léger Museum
- 40 years of Marineland
- 100 years of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco
- 50 years of Jazz in Juan (largely supported by the CRT!)
- 5 years of the Alpha Park
- 20 years of the Museum of Concrete Art in Mouans Sartoux.
The events:
The Cities of Nice, Antibes, and Cannes were the main carriers of significant event manifestations:
- major concerts such as: AC/DC – Prince – Unighted…
- electronic beaches in Cannes or Les Nuits du Sud in Vence (which renew the tourist clientele) and provide a festive, young, and urban image of the Destination.
- Jazz in Juan, celebrating with all success its 50th anniversary.
- The Fireworks Art Festivals continuously gather a dense crowd on the azure shores…
Thus, the Côte d’Azur hosts around 10 million tourists each year, with about 45% staying in the summer (June to September). The rate of foreign customers is 50% all year round and close to 55% in summer.
