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Yesterday, they were a right. Vacations have become a need for 84% of French people. An urgent necessity even, in the opinion of 38% of consumers. If their organization is far from being easy, leave appears to be a solution to preserve one’s mental health.
While the Protourisme firm, specializing in the analysis of vacation trends, indicated last March that fewer and fewer French people were planning to go on vacation – 63% plan to go for four nights or more this year compared to 65% in 2023 and 67% in 2022, the E.Leclerc Observatory of New Consumption and E.Leclerc Travel*, carried out with Ipsos, reveals how a large number of French people are ready to do anything to escape.
In the complicated economic context that many consumers are experiencing, no less than 78% of those questioned indicate that they make financial decisions throughout the year so as not to draw a line under their leave. Reducing spending on a vacation plan to be sure to go is a solution for 36% of vacationers. 63% say they pay more attention to the prices of the consumer products they buy, even if it means using a cheaper retail brand. Otherwise, 58% are cutting back on beauty and fashion products while 54% are reducing the budget allocated to leisure and outings.
To go on vacation at all costs, the French recognize that there is no other choice than to review the number of trips we make during the year (75%) and the number of days during which we share (75%). In its annual study, Protourisme specified that the budget for going on vacation this summer was down 7% compared to 2023, now standing at 2,450 euros. For almost a third of those leaving, summer getaways should cost less than last year.
If recent studies have demonstrated how vacations can also be trying times, like that ofAppinio for Valdys indicating that 62% of French people come back tired, a majority of those leaving also recognize in these moments an ability to escape from their daily life. This is a need to recharge one’s batteries psychologically, say 84% of French people surveyed by the E.Leclerc Observatory and Ipsos. For 88%, it is a way to put an end to the daily metro-work-sleep routine. The beneficial effects of travel are such that 79% of travelers consider it a way to improve their well-being. For 77%, this escape offers them the opportunity to forget all their worries. In short, vacations are a great time to take care of yourself (88%). On average, the French estimate that the break should last at least fifteen days.
*This survey was carried out among a nationally representative sample of 1,100 people, aged 18 and over, via the internet and using the quota method, from April 12 to 15, 2024.
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