After a gloomy month of March, the sun finally appeared above Hauts-de-France for this Easter weekend. An improvement which mainly benefited the tourism sector, which was able to launch the season in style.
It’s a successful Easter weekend for tourism professionals in Hauts-de-France. With 15° in Lille or 14° in Montreuil-sur-mer, and especially with a sun that illuminated the whole territory, the first tourists of the season pointed their noses.
“We always depend on one thing and only one: good weather”recognizes Pierre Nouchi, president of the Union of trades and industries of the hotel industry (UMIH) of Hauts-de-France.
“Last year, the season started much earlier because the weather was very nice in March. There, we start a little later but overall, it’s a good start.”
In addition to the Easter celebrations, which moved tourists who came to reunite with their families, this weekend of April 8 and 9 coincided with the holidays of Belgian and German neighbors.
The first sector to benefit from this enthusiasm is obviously the coast and the beaches of the North Sea. But other territories were able to benefit from this spring wind.
“The Arrageois is always a place that pleases, inland, with its landscapes, its squares… Each time there has been an event somewhere in the region, we have seen the public there. I’m thinking of the scallop festival on the coast”, illustrates Pierre Nouchi.
With the Paris-Roubaix, the Lille metropolis also came out well. The affluence has done good to everyone around
Pierre Nouchi, regional president of the UMIH
If the hotel business turned out rather well thanks to last minute reservations caused by the good weather, it is the campsite that is doing the best.
At the campsite, we begin to “settle for the season”
“Here, it’s a local campsite, with people who come from the surrounding area, who find friends. Sometimes they start to settle down for the season and do a bit of cleaning, to then come back to spend the whole of July -August. So there were a lot of people” summarizes the president of the UMIH.
Maxim Parmentier, vice-president of the Departmental Federation of Open Air Hotels (FDHPA) of Pas-de-Calais, draws the same conclusions.
“We filled up on passing campsites, so pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes. Ditto for the rental of mobile homes. In Merlimont, the Festi’Vintage brought in a lot of people”he notes.
Even if the season started a bit late, no worries on the professional side. “Everything will come together for us, believes Maxime Parmentier. Next week it will be school holidays and international kite meetings. Then there will be the bridges of May 1 and 8, Ascension, Pentecost…”
Reservations are already pretty good, it announces a beautiful spring if the weather stays with us.
Maxime Parmentier, vice-president FDHPA 62
To make the most of the beautiful season ahead, the outdoor accommodation industry is still actively recruiting. “We are still looking for staff, some campsites do not yet have their teams even if we still manage to attract seasonal workers” believes the vice-president of the FDHPA.
The federation has also launched a website, macarrièrecamping.fr with explanatory videos and, above all, job offers.