Marseille tourism: "American and Canadian tourists have returned, with a purchasing power that interests us".
As the summer season is coming to an end, tourism professionals in Marseille are noticing a return of foreign customers, especially Americans.
They had disappeared from circulation. But this summer, Marseille tourism professionals had to review their basics in English, after two years of drought. The tourist season in the second city of France has indeed been marked by a very clear return of foreign customers to the Old Port. Thus, according to figures released this Thursday by the Marseille tourist office, nearly 49% of the tourists who have visited the second city of France are of foreign origin. These tourists are mostly Spanish, Italian, German or from the United Kingdom.
Marseille tourism
A attendance that is logically found in the statistics of the city's airport. Air traffic is indeed returning to its pre-Coronavirus crisis level, with a high prevalence for international routes, which represents 71% of summer traffic, 3/4 of which are coming from and bound for Europe. "We are delighted with the return of our traditional customers, such as Belgians, Germans, English and Italians," enthuses Julien Boulay, marketing director of Marseille Provence airport. There are also strong peaks in the increase in visits for certain destinations: +42% for Austria or + 44% for Switzerland. »
For its first summer of opening, the Cosquer cave notices this same trend. Of the 300,000 entries registered this summer for what constitutes the most visited paid monument of the summer season in Marseille, 15% of the visitors to the reconstruction of this prehistoric cave come from abroad.
"We have attracted visitors who are already sensitive to these issues, because there are already sites of this type in their country, details Frédéric Prades.
Marseille tourism foreigners
These foreigners are mainly Spanish, German and originally from the United Kingdom.
We have a lot of cruise passengers on free visits: 700 groups have already booked a slot from September until the end of the year.
We also have a lot of Americans, which is a surprise for us. This is surely following the nomination of Marseille by the Times recently as one of the 50 destinations to visit. »
A news that is not to displease for the merchants of the Phocaean city. "The Americans and Canadians have returned, with a purchasing power that we are necessarily interested in," says Guillaume Sicard, downtown merchant and president of the Marseille-Center federation of merchants. As a reminder, tourism generates one billion euros in economic benefits for the city, i.e. 7% of the local economy and 15,000 direct jobs.
Marseille tourism data
- This summer in Marseille, almost one in two tourists was of foreign origin.
- A return that is welcomed with open arms by professionals in the sector, aware of the financial windfall that such a clientele represents.
- For its first summer of opening, the Cosquer Cave recorded 300,000 admissions. Which constitutes the most visited paid monument of the summer season in Marseille.
