Victims of the lack of snow this winter and then the significant rainfall in recent weeks, retailers in Haut-Rhin have suffered a significant drop in their attendance rate.
Bad times for tourism professionals in Alsace. The capricious weather of spring, which followed a winter during which there was a lack of snow, greatly handicapped Alsatian traders.
This Wednesday, June 5 in Haut-Rhin, the inhabitants of Kaysersberg were able to see a phenomenon that had become all too rare in recent weeks: a few rays of sunlight pierced the clouds. Enough to attract a few tourists and give a little hope to local traders and hoteliers, after a particularly difficult start to the season.
Rain ruined the month of May
The latter were the collateral victims of the exceptional level of precipitation which fell on the region throughout the month of May. About ten kilometers from Kaysersberg, the Colmar meteorological station, for example, recorded 136.3 millimeters of rain, or 95% more than normal for this period.
Restaurants and campsites are thus seeing a significant drop in attendance, which amounts to around 30% for the former and up to 45% for the latter, according to Christophe Bergamini, the director of the tourist office of the valley of Kaysersberg. It is “catastrophic in terms of turnover for the month of May”, summarizes the latter.
Vacations canceled or shortened
“Fortunately, what saves us are the bridges, which have been good,” he tempers. Christophe Bergamini notes that “in April-May, these are the rainiest months. And that’s not good for tourism.”
He explains that some of the tourists, who were waiting for the arrival of good weather, “did not come”, while others “shortened” their vacations, according to an observation made by tourism professionals. hotel business with whom Christophe Bergamini interacted. “We saw it a lot, people had booked for four, five days and after two days left,” he says.
After a winter marked by a lack of snow and a spring spent in the rain, Alsatian traders now intend to make up for it during the summer season. Hoping that the weather will not be harsh again, particularly through episodes of heatwave.
Antoine Coutin with Mathias Fleury
