Description:

Whilst the flagship attraction in Poitou Charentes boasts a near-capacity number of daily visitors in August, interim surveys of tourism professionals around the region in June point to an average year for the majority.

Futuroscope is delighted at the average visitor numbers so far for the month of August have reached 14,000 per day (close to the estimated 16,000 capacity), and with an average visitor spend of 40€ (including ticketing, food and souvenirs) the early signs are promising.  The end-of-season assessment of the parks performance is expected at the end of the month, and management expects that the results will be positive.

After a modest start to the season, tourism professionals were keeping their fingers crossed for the summer months, but this interim assessment points to a middle-of-the-road performance.  In Vienne, 41% of the professionals questioned felt that visitor numbers were up on 2007 figures, whilst 39% felt that they were down.  In Deux Sevres, 36% felt visitor numbers were up, but 34% felt they were down.  In Charente Maritime, the situation was worse, with 31% feeling that numbers were up but 44% on the negative side.  This survey suggests that results will be neither catastrophic nor sensational by the end of the season.

The regional committee for tourism cites a change in visitor behaviours, to which the tourism industry must adapt.  Holiday-makers are waiting until the last minute to make bookings, taking stock of both the weather and of special deals available over the internet before committing to a booking, and they have less money to spend because of the current economic situation.  People were also showing a tendency to travel shorter distances (perhaps due to increased fuel prices), and stay for shorter periods of time.

The committee also has one eye on the effect of the recent changes to French labour laws, such as the 35 hour week, and expects this to start and affect the tourism industry over the coming six months.  The 35 hour working week was said to have boosted the tourism industry in previous years.