Christmas holidays: Languedoc among the favorite destinations for the French

The seaside is particularly popular during the two weeks of the Christmas holidays, according to professionals. Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

According to the Regional Committee for Tourism and Leisure (CRTL), the number of nights booked on platforms over the two weeks of vacation is up 8%. According to PAP, Languedoc is even the second destination, after the Côte d'Azur.

On the eve of the Christmas holidays, tourism professionals have good reason to rub their hands. All the indicators are green. All announce a good season in terms of attendance. In its booking forecasts for the 2024 Christmas holidays, the Regional Tourism and Leisure Committee (CRTL) predicts an 8% increase in tourist nights booked on the platforms.

However, the gap is significant between the first and second weeks of the holidays. In the first week, attendance would be 7% lower than in the first week of the 2023 Christmas holidays. On the other hand, in the second week, it explodes, with a 26% increase in bookings. “Unlike previous years, we have observed very early bookings, notes Stéphanie Chauven, who co-manages the Miramar hotels in Grau-du-Roi (Gard) and Casa Marina in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône). There is more anticipation this year”.

Around 80,000 bookings in Hérault

The CRTL's assessments are confirmed by another study, that proposed by PAP Vacances, a specialist in private-to-private real estate transactions and vacation rentals. The study shows general bookings in France, up 12.4%, “against a backdrop of gloomy economic conditions and instability policy”. But also a preference for the seaside, which this year represents 32% of reservation requests.

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According to the Hérault Tourism Observatory, the department recorded, over these two weeks, 80,000 reservations in accommodation offered on the platforms. “It remains relatively stable, but well above what we had seen in previous years”, explains Mireille Carniel-Fabre, its manager. In charge of development at Hérault Tourisme, Jean-François Pouget confirms the importance of winter. “We are now working a lot on winter customers”, he says, relying on marketing operations to attract holidaymakers outside the main spring and summer periods.

The sun is particularly targeted

The Mediterranean coast is particularly attractive to holidaymakers. “It is clearly the South and its sunny regions that are targeted”, specifies PAP, which notes that bookings for the Côte d'Azur are up 32.9%, just ahead of Languedoc (+31.8%), the second most popular destination. The world leader in home exchange, HomeExchange records 885 exchanges planned for the holidays in Occitanie. This is 66% more than in 2023 at the same time. With “Toulouse, Montpellier, Sète, Albi and Nîmes at the top of the list”.

As is often the case, it is the second week of the holidays that motivates holidaymakers. We saw this with the CRTL forecasts. “As of December 17, we were fully booked at our hotel in Grau-du-Roi, emphasizes Stéphanie Chauven. At the first, we were not, we were three-quarters full”. If the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer hotel establishment is showing fewer reservations, “it's because it's quieter in winter, not much happens there, unlike Grau-du-Roi”.

According to the CRTL, the occupancy rate for the first week of the holidays, at 24%, remains well below what it was for the first week of the 2023 Christmas holidays. It is down 8%, while that of the second week (also 24%) is up 4%. “The fact that the first of January falls on a Wednesday this year, unlike the previous year when it fell on a Monday, could explain this difference, because it could have encouraged the organization of stays during the second week of the holidays”, specifies the forecast note.