According to a study by the Syndicat des Entreprises du Tour Operating (Seto), the summer of 2023 promises to be good for the tourism sector. Tour operator booking forecasts announce a 44.1% increase in turnover. The overall number of customers increased by 35.6% in total. The French have therefore decided to travel this summer. For René-Marc Chikli, president of Seto, the summer season is coming “under good auspices”, despite reservations “thwarted in February 2023 by strikes linked to pension reforms”.
However, these estimates must be mixed: in the inflationary context, the French could modify their vacation plan. Strikes in the air could also thwart travel desires. “We hope it won’t be the equivalent of summer 2022, marked by cancellations and flight delays. But we mustn’t dream,” worries René-Marc Chikli.
While France was well represented last year, this year the country is experiencing a 15.2% drop in attendance. France had benefited in 2021 and 2022 from massive postponements of intentions to travel abroad due to the Covid crisis. Since the end of the health crisis, it has undergone a phenomenon of “reverse catching up”: the French are looking for a change of scenery.
What are the booking trends for this summer of 2023? Where will the French go on vacation? Discover the top 10 destinations popular with the French this summer based on estimates of bookings for the summer as of March 31, 2023 compared to the same period last year.
