Travel Companies have published a study on the favorite destinations of the French for the Christmas holidays. And we note a fairly significant drop in overseas destinations in this ranking, notably Guadeloupe.
While certain destinations are experiencing spectacular growth, such as Austria which jumped by 191%, Tunisia by 42%, Guadeloupe shows a worrying decline of 23.8%.
This drop is as marked as that observed for destinations such as Italy or Mauritius.
Martinique too
In the Orchestra ranking for Echo Touristique also, in December 2024, Guadeloupe drops by more than 30% compared to December 2023. And Martinique records the sharpest drop in travel sales (- 37.7%) . The site attributes it mainly to tensions linked to the social crisis.
Is this the start of a negative dynamic for the West Indies?
High costs of plane tickets
Several factors can explain this drop, the high costs of plane tickets to overseas remain a recurring problem, particularly during the holiday season.
Added to this are the structural challenges linked to the Guadeloupean tourist offer which sometimes struggles to renew itself in the face of increasingly inventive international competition focused on access to more luxurious services at competitive prices.
Water and social tensions
And the image of the destination is also affected by social tensions and problems of access to water.
In any case, these figures invite us to rethink the strategy and leave room for innovation to highlight assets with a fresh eye to attract visitors who have access to equally exceptional destinations at lower prices.
The question of ticket prices is also crucial; airlines will also have to commit to more attractive pricing policies to make the destination accessible to as many people as possible.
L'Echo Touristique is currently seeing a fall in ticket prices to the Antilles.
