In Saint-Jean-de-Luz, restaurateurs suffer a drop in attendance

If the parasols swarm on the large beach, the Luzian terraces, they still reveal some empty chairs. However, On the return from sunny days. In addition, while they count on the month of July to make great recipes, part of the restaurateurs in the city center find a drop in unusual attendance for the season.

From the Chistera counter. Similarly, opposite the Halles de Saint-Jean-de-Luz, at a time when summer visitors settle for lunch, Alban keeps an eye on its terrace. For example, He has been responsible for a year. Therefore, a half and it is the second consecutive summer that he describes little fruitful. Therefore, “Last year. Similarly, we thought it was because of the Olympic Games, or Bayonne celebrations organized at the same time as those of Pamplona,” says the young restaurateur, but this year it’s the same. Furthermore, »Decrease saint-jean-de-luz, restaurateurs suffer drop attendance in the purchasing power of holidaymakers? Similarly, Too many new addresses in the city center? Moreover, Attentive to these factors, Alban quickly designs a new, more accessible menu to keep its customers. In addition, “Before. we made a parrillada of lobsters at 100 euros, now we make blue sauce ribbed for three times less,” he points out. Inevitably, it is less gastronomic, less worked ”.

“Before we made a parrillada of lobsters at 100 euros. now we make blue sauce ribbed for three times less”

Tighten the belt – Saint-jean-de-luz, restaurateurs suffer drop attendance

A few meters from the beach, the Basque tavern also undergoes a drop in customers, despite the arrival in April 2025 of Sébastien Méric, its new manager. Former director of the Majestic (place Louis XIV), the restaurateur notices new habits among holidaymakers. “I have never seen so many people picnic on the beach!” “, He exclaims.

Another factor according to the restaurateur: “The Airbnb rule saint-jean-de-luz, restaurateurs suffer drop attendance which benefits the locals but scares away tourists”. in fact, its customers. Coming into force in 2023. the so -called “compensation” regulations very strongly restricts the airbnb rentals of second homes on the Basque coast, indirectly encouraging vacationers to accommodate hotels, where the average price for a night environment around 170 euros in this season. A strongly dissuasive factor for large families.

According to the July 2025 barometer calculating tourism attendance, Saint-Jean-de-Luz lost around 55,000 visitors, out of the 903,000 counted this month. Among the absent. Parisians, Girondins and Séquanais alto (Hauts-de-Seine) are less numerous, but the gap is more dug by Europeans, with 600 Dutch, 1,130 Spaniards and 1,600 Germans less compared to July 2024.

At the town hall of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the figures do not make waves. Éric Soreau, fifth deputy mayor, delegate for tourism and trade, explains this decrease. “The weather has been capricious since the Bayonne festivals. the beaches saint-jean-de-luz, restaurateurs suffer drop attendance have been closed because of the physalies,” he said, better to wait until the end of the summer before drawing a conclusion precipitously. Nothing to worry about, therefore. The assistant even recalls having exceeded his sales objectives for CESTA Punta. and having reached a record on the sale of confetti during the Toro de Fuego.

Everyone has their recipe

Half-hotel, mid-restaurant, the bizipoz, located on Place Foch, is not as confident. Hélène Meunier. responsible for operations, confirms the success of rooms of stay, almost all complete this summer, unlike the Bar and Food Court area (restaurant area), still far below her summer objectives. “We give the impression that it is always full because people settle easily on the terraces but they consume less. less,” she reveals, embarrassed. This summer, for the first time, the bar is “overflowed”, that is to say that there are too many employees. An observation that she saint-jean-de-luz, restaurateurs suffer drop attendance does not find by when she returns home in the evening. in Bayonne, where the terraces seem “always full” and the servers, “always overwhelmed”.

Three weeks before the start of the school year, a sector, however, was able to take out of the game. Thanks to their take-out dishes and their half-flipping formulas, camping restaurants are particularly appreciated by families. The Itsas Mendi campsite. on Chemin de Duhartia in Saint-Jean-de-Luz displays complete until September, and the terrace of its egunsentia restaurant, carried by the Natasha head, has not been full since June.

This performance has not gone unnoticed. From her office. Hélène Meunier already anticipates the coming summers: “If it’s the same next year, we will seriously think of setting up a partnership with campsites that do not yet have restaurants! »»