In trade as in tourism, the success of a day, even one or more decades is never guaranteed to last. A bitter observation that many large seaside resorts in Occitania were able to make.
These were created from the root plan launched in 1963, a vast state program of the Pompidou government, which brought out seven seaside resorts: Gruissan and Port Leucate in Aude, Port Camargue in Gard, Grande-Motte and Cap d’Agde in Hérault, Port Barcarès and Saint-Cyprien in the Pyrénées-Orientales.
The decline of the 2000s
Symbol of mass tourism before the 2000s and the democratization of holidays on the Mediterranean coast, these sets have drained “up to around 15 % of the entire summer tourism”, contextualizes Didier Arino, director of the Protourism. “But from the beginning of the 2000s, they began to experience a slow decline in the order of 1 % per year. »»
So much so that they represent today a little less than 10 % of all summer stays. “Part of this decline can partly be explained by an increase in the market. But if we look at the figures, we realize that they underperform, “continues Didier Arino.
With 1.7 million tourist beds, the Occitanie coast represents 28 % of the supply, but only 23 % of nights and 19 % of consumption, according to figures provided to 20 Minutes by the Protourism cabinet. This still represents 40 million nights per year, widely towed by the share of campsites, weighing for 16.8 million of them.
Too concreted, too many people
“These stations encounter several problems: today’s tourists can judge them too concreted, with too many people, and with the same problems as in the city like that of parking. They also suffer from a revival of image of the Atlantic coast. Worse, they seem to be very pale when they are compared to the coast of Var and the Alpes-Maritimes. “Almost systematically the positive points of the Mediterranean are illustrated by reports on the Côte d’Azur and the negative aspects by these seaside resorts. »»
In other words, part of the offer has become obsolete and the tourist directions have not anticipated the necessary changes and adaptations. “Admittedly, people come for the sun and the sea, but not only. And these stations have often failed to claim their hinterland, however rich in places of interest, such as Carcassonne or Sète to name a few. »»
The accommodation “too small or of the studio cabin, a promise to access the secondary residence, no longer make you want at all. A decline which is particularly measured in this furnished rental segment which is further declining according to the figures of the Tourism Observatory of La Grande-Motte. But this drop here is largely offset by the growth of nights in campsites and holiday village + 10.6 pts with an occupancy rate of 90 %.
The Grande-Motte is an exception
The Grande-Motte which is experiencing an increase of 0.5 % this year in the number of nights for July is an exception. Palavas-les-Flots saw its attendance further decrease by 8.83 % between 2022 and 2023, according to the latest figures available. Gruissan does even worse, with -12 % overnight stays in 2022, compared to 2021. Proof of this lack of attractiveness, “Gruissan, with Narbonne -Plage, are the two cheapest seaside resorts in France. Too many offers, not enough demand and drop in prices, ”describes our specialist.
Findings that push some of these stations to rethink their overall strategy. “As in the restoration finally, the seaside resorts that work today are those open and live year -round, work their product and offer an experience or concept. »»
“The Grande-Motte, which we accompanied with our office, understood these changes early and set up its services, especially those of campsites and holiday villages, but also thalassotherapy and hotels that drain business tourism, welcome business seminars and allow you to live the year. This station was also the construction that which had the strongest architectural intention, led by Jean Balladur. Whether you like or do not like it, this is also a differentiating element in a very competitive economy.
Time is counted to them
If they want to find a future, these stations, which are aging of their population, must reinvent themselves with offers more in agreement with the expectations of tourism in the 21st century. “They must better take into account their environment, develop new activities such as new board sports, kitesurfs and Wingfoil. Develop stations without a car, but offer alternatives, as Argelès has done, by setting up a small train that rereads the city to campsites “, illustrates Didier Arino who is surprised that there is not yet a green road practicable by bicycle and which makes it possible to travel the coast of Collioure at La Grande-Motte.
The fact remains that these stations, built in the 1960s to compete with Spanish destinations and support the construction industry, will have no choice but to rebuild, by integrating the imperatives of the standards and expectations of contemporary tourism. “We know that reinforced concrete has a lifespan of 150 years, and in the long term there will be nothing left,” concludes as a perspective Didier Arino.
