Strasbourg has reached saturation point. The Christmas market, which started this week, welcomes 3.3 million tourists, at least, until December 24. A moment “friendly, supportive and fair”as promised by Jeanne Barseghian, environmentalist mayor of Strasbourg? Not always.
For visitors, the army is like standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the mulled wine stands and among the souvenir sellers, installed in 314 chalets on picturesque squares in the historic center. To channel the crowds, the prefecture announced the creation of three pedestrian streets near the one-way cathedral, during peak times. This is unprecedented. ” For some residents, it has become overtourism. For economic players, this is exactly what is needed », has already decided Catherine Gouttefarde, director of the regional tourism agency Grand Est.
The tourist office should stop the promotion
The craze appeared in the 1990s, based on a local tradition that appeared in 1570: the “market of the Christ Child”. The municipal office and the regional tourism agency, involved in this relaunch, have recently stopped all promotional activities. ” We no longer control the communication. It became instantaneous and spontaneous », recognizes Catherine Gouttefarde.
The hotel industry is the big winner of this craze. December, the worst month of the year, has become the best. With the occupancy rate at 90% on average, and the demand greater than the supply (10,000 rooms in the metropolitan area), the hoteliers no longer hesitate to push the prices. At the Maison Rouge hotel (131 rooms), in the tourist and commercial sector of Place Kléber, the expected occupancy rate is 96%. ” Everything is going very well “, confirms its general manager Carine Kienlé. At this franchise establishment of the American brand Marriott Autograph Collection, we refrain from charging excessive prices. ” The price difference between low season and high season falls on a scale from 1 to 2 », testified Carine Kienlé.
Record occupancy rates
Last year, some hotels were able to post an occupancy rate of 102%. ” This is the effect of non-refundable cancellations. Some rooms, given at the last minute, were therefore rented twice », explains Catherine Gouttefarde.
In 2022, the price increase led to a mini-scandal on a European scale : assistants of the European Parliament, present in Strasbourg due to professional obligation, denounce the price of the night in a Mercure hotel, at 1000 euros. ” Performance management, which defines prices based on supply and demand, has been part of the economic model of the tourism sector for decades. Is that reasonable? It is discussed “, acknowledges Joël Steffen, vice-mayor and president of the Strasbourg tourism office. ” We have to keep in mind that things have a value, and that too high a price can have an absurd effect. “, He recognizes the elect.
A room at the Ibis for 1,016 euros
So the only explanation for the high prices is the excesses of performance management? Véronique Siegel, president of the Union des métiers de l’hôtellerie (UMIH) of Bas-Rhin, tries to calm the debate: ” December in Strasbourg looks like August on the French Riviera. It’s high season “.
” The Christmas market in Strasbourg is like the beach of Cannes: if you take it, the business of the hotels stops », confirms Sébastien Antoine, general manager of Sofitel. In its five-star establishment with 150 rooms, “December represents between 20% and 25% of the turnover of the year. We are lucky to have our own performance manager, a job that is increasingly being replaced by artificial intelligence”.
Two years after the controversy over the Mercure at 1000 euros, the policy of the Accor group has resulted, this new year, in an aberration: on the online reservation site of the hotel group, the Ibis Styles hotel (three stars) at the Stade de Meinau offers. a room for 1,016 euros for the night of December 17! The same evening, the F1 hotel (one star), on the side of the highway in La Vigie, is 155 euros.
Attract tourists to Reims and Nancy, or during the summer
To curb inflation in attendance, Strasbourg’s tourist office has stopped promoting its Christmas market. Colmar, also saturated, made the same decision. ” We no longer welcome influencers. We are not yet forced to demarcate tourism, and I hope we never reach this stage which would be counterproductive “, predicts Catherine Gouttefarde.
The regional tourism agency dreams of seeing tourists flock elsewhere in the Grand Est, or at other times of the year. ” Let’s remember that there are other Christmas markets in the Grand Est, in Nancy or Reims, and they are very beautiful. Catherine Gouttefarde smiled.
