Several transport options are available, but two thirds of French people still choose their cars to go on holiday. For several reasons, this means of transport is still the most popular this summer, ahead of planes and trains, despite some drawbacks.
Launched online since the beginning of June by the Institute of Opinion and Marketing Studies in France (Ifop), A survey commissioned by the Roole company, France’s leading automobile club, revealed on June 26 that 76% of French people surveyed plan to use their cars to go on vacation this summer. Note that the survey was conducted on a sample of 2,000 people aged 18 and over.
In addition to being more practical, the car offers the possibility of visiting places located in the surroundings of the chosen holiday destination. For 60% of those surveyed, including the elderly, the choice fell on their vehicles because they allow them to take more luggage without inconvenience, while 38% consider that traveling by car is cheaper than the plane or train.
However, there is also a proportion of people who consider that driving a car during the holiday journey is tiring and stressful, in addition to incurring additional expenses. Moreover, the survey revealed that people who have decided to take their cars set aside a budget of around 300 euros for a one-way journey of 500 to 1,000 km.
In order to minimise these costs, measures are already being taken by holidaymakers who intend to favour picnics over fast food at petrol stations. Opting for eco-driving and preferring national roads over toll motorways are also choices put forward by several people.
Furthermore, a survey commissioned by Point S garages, specializing in maintenance, tires and automobile repair, from OpinionWay, a French company specializing in political polling and marketing research, shows that ecological concerns do not weigh much in the choice of the mode of transport to use when going on vacation for the French.
It is the practical side of the car on vacation that attracts most people
Only 14% of respondents said they made their choice based on ecological concerns, compared to 43% for economic reasons and 75% for practical reasons, according to the survey carried out on May 29 and 30, 2024 on 1,033 people aged 18 and over.
However, a study by the Shift Project think tank, published in 2022, shows that long car journeys have a “significant” impact on the carbon footprint of the French. Frédéric Micheau, deputy general director of OpinionWay, points out on this subject that a paradoxical phenomenon is observed “ with a society divided between ecological concerns and the reality of behavior which clashes with physical realities, particularly in the choice of modes of travel ».
