This year, for the first time, the lantern festival took place in Montauban. It is a success for the city which benefits from numerous economic spin-offs and which has decided to renew the event. But this fifth edition attracted fewer people than in previous years.
The Festival of Lights 2022 in Lyon
The lantern festival has just ended after two months of opening. This fifth edition was held for the first time in Montauban, about fifty kilometers from Toulouse.
It is a mixed report that the municipality of the city and the producer of the event, Patrice Gausserand, revealed. This year, the attendance is a little less important compared to previous editions.
Montauban welcomed 323,172 visitors this year. This is less than in Blagnac last year: 434,000 visitors. But also that in Gaillac, before the Covid-19 crisis, where 430,000 people had made the trip.
The demonstration is the victim of several unfavorable factors according to Brigitte Barèges, mayor of Montauban: “on had the World Cup in December so people were quite busy in the evenings. We also had the effects of the energy crisis and the problem of purchasing power with inflation.”
For his part, the organizer of the event adds: “the attendance is not as high as for the previous editions, but it is quite correct. There was a new audience this year, it was good, others didn’t come back. The era of Gaillac is over, we are going to start again with a new projection, a new festival.“
But for the municipality of Montauban, this first edition is a real success in terms of economic benefits and visibility and image for the city. The mayor has already announced that the event will be renewed next year.
“The economic benefits are colossal, the city center was crowded, especially at the time of Christmas.ël and in January, a period of sales which is quite difficult for our merchants. Some even told me that they had made their turnover for the year in one month“, says Brigitte Barèges.
The Ingres-Bourdelle Museum of Art and Archeology also welcomed a record number of visitors: 6,000 in the middle of winter. When buying a ticket for the lantern festival, the city also offered a package to visit this museum.
“In summer, we have a hotel occupancy rate of 55%, there we exceeded 60% in December and 76% in January.”
Brigitte BaregesMayor of Montauban
The day after its closure, the balance sheet of the festival shows 3.3 million receipts. However, no figures have been communicated concerning the amount of expenditure incurred. Although the mayor recognizesît that there will be a slight deficit.
She explains : “it was a first edition, we had put the package on parking, transport, which was a big problem in Blagnac. Here in this case maybe we spent too much for that, we had free shuttles every evening. I think we can save money next year on that.”
Last year, the city of Blagnac accumulated despite a very positive balance sheet, a deficit of 600,000 euros. The city has therefore given up this year to rehost the event.
By next year and for the sixth edition of the festival, the city of Montauban could be twinned with a Chinese city at the origin of the lantern festival.
