End clap to the Wacken! The Strasbourg funfair, installed since June 25, ends this Sunday evening. The weather was rather nice and warm during this period (unlike last year), but at the time of the balance sheet, fairgrounds have a bitter taste.
“Maybe 15% fewer customers”, according to a showman
Sandy, the boss of the Orlando casino, admits that attendance this year is down : “We have maybe 15 to 20% less people“, and according to him, this is explained by a decline in the purchasing power of his customers. “We feel that the budget is very tight, and it does not only concern my stand, but everyone“, Sandy breathes.
Opposite, Freddy, who manages a small train, nods and talks about a year among “the most catastrophic“:
A customer who had 50 euros to spend at the Saint-Jean fair, if he took more from the petrol budget, he has less from the entertainment budget here!
The price of some attractions has increased
Ana, churros in hand, came only once this year and this mom planned a “hell of a budget“so that her children have fun, that is 50 euros. But this Strasbourgeoise blows:”it’s still expensive to come for just an hour, before with the same budget we did more things here!”
Due in particular to the energy crisis, some showmen here have had to increase their prices, like Tony: the ticket for his little train went from three euros to three euros fifty. “We’re on a tightrope“, confides the fairground, who had to resolve to this increase.
Everything has increased: the price of electricity, location, and scrap, which has taken 40%. The builders of rides are not going to give us any gifts, and inevitably we have to pass it on afterwards.
That’s why this year there was no reduced or half-price day at the Saint-Jean fair.