A popular tourist area
A survey was conducted between May and September 2004 with the aim of getting to know tourists in Aquitaine a little better.
These five months account for 72% of tourist overnight stays, and July and August alone account for 51% of visitors.
Let’s build an identikit picture of one of the 8,350,000 visitors in this period... Or more precisely, the 52% of them who stayed in paying accommodation (hotel, campsite, tourist residence, gîte, furnished apartment, etc.).
Out of 10 overnight stays in Aquitaine, 8 are spent by French visitors. Two come from Ile de France, two from Midi-Pyrénées, two from Aquitaine – one of the advantages of living in a huge region is that you can go on holiday there! – and two from other regions in France. The remaining two come from abroad.
Where do they come from, exactly? From the United Kingdom mainly (25%), then
the Netherlands (21%), Germany (17%), Belgium-Luxembourg (10.7%), and Spain
(10.6%).
The average stay lasts 7.7 nights. This is slightly higher than the
national average, probably because Aquitaine is mainly a destination for the
long summer holidays.
Aquitaine is associated first and foremost with the sea. The Atlantic Ocean is the region’s prime factor of attraction – cited in 44% of replies. Other replies included “the climate” with 32%, “relaxing” 31% and “discovering a city” 24%.
The gentle Aquitaine climate is ideal for camping, offering beautiful sunny
days and warm nights.
With more than 20% of tourist nights, camping or caravanning takes the
top spot in accommodation, ahead of furnished apartments (13%) and hotels (7%).
The coastal areas receive the most visitors, although green tourism,
the castles
of the Dordogne and the Lot-et-Garonne are increasingly popular.
Worthy of note: 21% of overnight stays are by holidaymakers who are
travelling over the whole region. There is so much to see and do…
Not many holidaymakers come alone (4%). Most people come with their family
(47%, plus 15% with family and friends). Couples represent 21% of visitors.
This fits with the age brackets of visitors: the 35-49 bracket is the
biggest (40%) ahead of the 50-64 (22%) and the 25-34 (21%).
Whoever you are and wherever you are from, we wish you a wonderful
stay in the land of holidays that is Aquitaine!
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