SiteMinder Finds French Holidaymakers Will Take Shorter Trips, Spend Less Time Planning Post-COVID

A new report by SiteMinder, the global hotel industry’s leading guest acquisition platform, highlights a shortening trip duration for French travelers in the wake of COVID-19. SiteMinder’s latest Changing Traveler Report, based on the survey responses of 553 French holidaymakers, has found that more than 40 percent of holidaymakers will be taking shorter trips than normal in the months ahead, and more than 64 percent will organize their travel within a month of leaving while six percent will not book ahead at all.

Despite relaxations of the French border in recent weeks, these findings highlight the increased number of locals taking abbreviated trips closer to home this summer, as well as the monetary impacts of the coronavirus, which has affected 68 percent of respondents financially.

Encouragingly, for an industry which accounts for one-in-10 of the country’s jobs and roughly 10 percent of GDP, 66 percent of locals plan to holiday domestically by the end of the year. Some 86 percent plan to have traveled by the end of next year.

“We are certainly seeing changes in the way people are traveling in France, however the important takeaway is that the desire for travel remains strong,” says Antoine Aubrun, Country Manager of France at SiteMinder. “This has been the greatest test for the French travel industry in recent times, so to see locals supporting French hoteliers has been heartwarming and something that I think will build through the second half of summer.”

Other key findings of the report include that French accommodation seekers currently prefer to book their stays directly with the venue, rather than with a third party. Additionally, nearly eight percent fewer people plan to stay with big chains and resorts now, compared to before COVID-19.