The departure of the 40 Vendée Globe skippers on Sunday November 10, in front of nearly 350,000 spectators, marks the start of the solo sailing trip around the world, but also the end of three weeks of celebration in the village in Les Sables-d'Olonne. On the site, over three weeks, nearly 2 million visitors visited the site. Certain Vendéen traders established in other municipalities, like Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, were able to benefit from a passing phenomenon. Others were waiting for this departure to hope to find a little more customers.
Passage phenomenon
In the shopping street of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, the feeling is mixed in the shops. In Céline's, selling clothes and accessories, the situation remained stable, “People didn't just stay in Les Sables-d'Olonne. They spent their day in the village, but we had the advantage of having tourists who came to enjoy the other coastal towns”she explains. While in general retailers experience a drop in footfall in November according to the saleswoman, the Vendée Globe effect allowed Céline to see more people in her store. Very often, passing tourists.
“I expected more repercussions”
However, in this same street, other professionals were waiting for the start of the Vendée Globe to hope to find a few more customers. For some, Sables-d'Olonne has absorbed all the tourist influx without having any repercussions behind it, “There weren’t as many repercussions as we imagined” notes Delphine, a trader who has already experienced other editions of the Vendée Globe. This year, she deplores a 30% drop in traffic to her store compared to previous races. For her, the event is supposed to bring in more customers, “In previous years, it brought us more people, people who didn’t know the Vendée coast, and now it’s true that it’s different, there are fewer people.” She points in particular lower purchasing power for tourists, forced “unless you spread out and visit the rest of Vendée” she said.
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