News Travel Tourism: Summer 2023 Travel Highlights Seto Reveals Top Performers and Trends
Seto's analysis of the 2023 summer season, spanning from May 1 to October 31, underscores a robust resurgence in travel that commenced over a year ago. President René-Marc Chikli emphasizes that this renaissance in tourism transcends mere financial considerations, with people choosing to invest in their travel experiences.
A Stronger Summer than 2022 For departures during the period from May 1 to October 31, 2023, member tour operators of the union collectively transported 1,651,081 customers, marking an impressive 11% increase compared to 2022. This surge in traffic, combined with an average unit revenue of €1,318 (a growth of 4.2%), is expected to yield a total turnover of €2.176 billion, reflecting a substantial 15.9% increase. These figures are based on departures up to August 31, 2023, as well as reservations made for September and October of the same year.
To provide context, during the May 1 to August 31, 2019 timeframe, Seto tour operators transported 1,792,219 customers. Consequently, the number of customers has decreased by 1.4 million compared to the pre-pandemic period. However, sales saw an impressive growth of over 10%, primarily driven by price increases. René-Marc Chikli clarifies that they cater to diverse customer segments and emphasize that not only affluent travelers are accommodated, though some customers may struggle to cope with inflation.
Mediterranean Destinations: Tunisia Takes the Lead In the summer of 2023, Tunisia stands out with a remarkable increase in the number of customers (+33.6% in traffic and +7.1% in turnover). According to René-Marc Chikli, budget-conscious French travelers found solace in "going to Tunisia." Non-mainland Greece, traditionally a top performer since 2019, secures the second spot in terms of traveler numbers. Raouf Benslimane, CEO of Thalasso n°1, points out that this summer, French travelers continued to visit destinations that had been impacted by climatic events such as wildfires and floods.
In terms of turnover, Greece, despite experiencing inflation, claims the top position. René-Marc Chikli observes that price levels in Greece, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands have reached the threshold of acceptability.
Shortened Stays at Alpitour Patrice Caradec of Alpitour remarks, "For the first time in 10 years, Italian hoteliers in Sicily and Sardinia experienced a catastrophic August." This downturn affected even the Italian clientele, leading to price reductions. Caradec also highlights that, while the French continued their vacation plans, they shortened the duration of their stays due to inflation. "At Alpitour, the average expenditure per person increased by 7% to 8% compared to 2022," he explains, "but the length of stay has noticeably decreased, from two weeks to just 12 days, for example."
