Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 12:10 PM – Updated at 12:10 PM
In the car park of the Cap Sud holiday village of the Sandaya group, in Venzolasca, free places are worth gold. The 5-star structure with 270 accommodations posted an occupancy rate that approached 90% in July with mainly French and German customers. “Our clients are families and stay ten nights on average”, explains Sabrina, site manager.
Here, the tourist season is in full swing. “Most of our clientele vacations in the same group across France. People have felt the rise in prices all the same and are spending less on ancillary activities. Most come with the trunk of the car full of groceries. They focus on the activities in the village.”
The 73 seasonal workers are not unemployed. Just go to the village to understand the state of mind of holidaymakers. Like Jens, a German father, who came to Corsica with his two children and his wife for the first time: “I don’t find the prices abnormal for an island. We find the same prices on other islands in the world. The only downside is the heat which prevented us from doing several activities.”
“A very sharp rise in transport prices”
A few steps away, Pierre, a Marseillais on vacation with his wife and three children, fully adheres to the concept of the place: “There is the water park for the children, equipment nearby. Everything is together. And it’s much more practical. On the other hand, I was not particularly impressed by the price of transport. We like to come to this corner of Corsica because it is also quieter.”
Fernand, who has been coming from Switzerland with his family for 20 years, points out: “We felt a very sharp increase in transport prices but when you come to this type of holiday village, it means you have the means”, he confides. He spent 5,000 euros a week on his wife, daughter and son-in-law, and granddaughter.
Sonia, Alexandre and their two children are coming to CorseA for the first time. G.
Sonia, Alexandre and their two children, from Côte-d’Or, observe: “We’ve wanted to come to Corsica for several years but the prices deterred us. This year, strangely, we found that the tickets were cheaper. It must be said that we had anticipated. We chose this campsite because the south of the Corsica is way too expensive.”
A few kilometers away, in Vescovato, two other campsites, of more modest size, look grim. At Europa Beach, located a stone’s throw from the sea, tourists are not rushing to the gate. “Luckily we have the regulars, analyzes Roland Esteve, manager of this campsite which has 14 bungalows and around a hundred tent pitches. The price of transport has deterred many people. Those who come try to negotiate the prices, which we did not see before. They ask for a discount on end-of-stay cleaning, for example. They even avoid taking the canyoning activity.”
Moving away from the sea, another campsite located on the same road has a majority of vacant accommodation. “We’re down 60% from last year, says Nathalie Bernardi, director of the Marina di Sorbo campsite. There was an overbidding on prices in Corsica and transport. The regulars come anyway. I don’t have many reservations for August. The season is over but I’m not worried about the future unless it happens again for two or three years…”
#quieter
