“The attractiveness of our territory continues to strengthen and promises extraordinary future seasons,” declared Christian Estrosi, president of the Mรฉtropole, while commenting on the metropolitan area’s tourism economy barometer in front of professionals from this sector, the backbone of the azurean economy.
Not without adding, without controversy but just for accuracy, “the figures are better than those for the rest of the department.”
Question: To whom did he want to address?
The figures…
From the first quarter, an increase of 6.68% was recorded in the hotel and restaurant sector.
The arrival of tram line 2 at the Jean Mรฉdecin station, directly linking with the airport in less than 30 minutes, has given a strong boost to these results since June. “All market research shows that mobility is a key factor of attractiveness,” emphasizes Rudy Salles, deputy for tourism and international relations.
This summer, attendance saw a strong increase:
In June, hotels were occupied at 87% (+3 points), notably thanks to the Women’s World Cup and the Fรชte de la Musique. “Our event policy is paying off,” says Christian Estrosi. “It provides visibility to the city and significant economic benefits,” he insists, noting that on the eve and days of matches, hotel occupancy increased by 4 points, reaching nearly 91%.
In July, there was further progress with a gain of 0.5 points, with an occupancy rate of 89.8% compared to 89.3% in 2018.
In August, the occupancy rate in hotels exceeded 92.4%, comparable to 2018 (figures as of August 11), with an increase in the average price (+3%) and revenue per available room (+2.2%).
The outlook for the end of the summer season is encouraging: the survey conducted by the Metropolitan Tourist Office on bookings for September and October 2019 suggests an exceptional late summer season: for September, the booking rate is also clearly ahead: 68% of rooms are already booked (a 12-point increase over last year), while in October, the booking rate is up by 4 points.
How can these results be explained without highlighting the predominant role of the airport, with more than 100 international connections (Beijing being the latest), which is expected to exceed 14 million (13.8 million in 2019) passengers in transit in 2019?
As of June 30, traffic was up by 5.7%, with 6.67 million passengers, of which 60% were international.
Comments…
If we look to the near future, the situation could even improve: the metropolitan approach of the Tourist Office, bringing together those of 49 municipalities, allows for an integrated offer with a wide-ranging tourism diversity: the high country with winter sports activities, mountain and nature parks,
the mid-country with the picturesque charm of all our perched villages, the dynamic Vence area, and of course the coastal strip with many features between the east and west of our metropolis!
And then, and then… there is the event policy, so dear to Christian Estrosi, which has become the flagship of his territorial policy: large-scale cultural exhibitions, sporting events, renowned festivals that attract more and more people.
We still remember the Jazz Festival, the FIFA Women’s World Cup matches, the France-Scotland international rugby match, looking forward to the Triathlon World Championship 70.3 (in September) and the Nice-Cannes Marathon (in November).
Then in 2020, the celebrations will double: Nice will be the starting city (plus 2 stages) of the Tour de France and the Allianz Riviera will host the 2 semi-finals of the Top 14 rugby.
And Christian Estrosi does not want to stop there; he is full of ideas and programs!
Except… next year there will be municipal elections which could call everything into question…
“It’s true, all this doesn’t depend only on me,” he concluded. But from his expression, it’s clear he really wants all this to continue.
But didn’t Virgil write in the Aeneid: “Fortune favors the bold”?
