• On March 17, 2020, the France went into lockdown to deal with the coronavirus. This extraordinary period was an opportunity to question our lifestyles and to reflect on a new post-confinement society.
  • Three years later, and with air traffic on the verge of returning to pre-pandemic levels, 20 Minutes takes stock of the promise of a fairer, greener and simply more livable world. In short, of a "world after".
  • In this episode dedicated to holidays, 20 Minutes looks at the issue of slow tourism, the mountain that adapts and gives voice to readers who do not hesitate to continue to go abroad.

Locked in 20m², the holidays in the sun seemed far away. At the exit, it was sure, we were going to leave, far, long. And then we said that this confinement was also an opportunity to put an end to mass tourism, to no longer struggle to put your towel on an overcrowded beach. And to leave a little closer too, since the borders have been slow to reopen. However, three years later, French air traffic has returned to 90% of its 2019 level.

So, have we failed to redefine our holidays? After a "real trend" towards local tourism in 2020 and 2021, "when the borders were not necessarily open", the year 2022 was marked by a "revival of travel abroad", confirms Caroline Mignon, president of the association Acteurs du Tourisme Durable. But the consideration of holidays "as a time of conviviality and authenticity is maintained," she explains.

Changing mountain

Cécile Ferrando, communication director of Val d'Isère Tourism, confirms the development of "another way of consuming the mountains". "People used to ski all day, now they take the time to do something else," she says, noting an increase in demand "on snowshoeing, ski touring, wildlife discovery" since 2021, when the lifts were closed. In a sector that knows it is threatened by global warming, "it's positive," she notes, while emphasizing the fact that these activities were already proposed before.

Besides, the mountains are also summer. A season conducive to the development of the "fashion of camping, adventure close to home" for a regional clientele, with tourists "more itinerant in a given territory, with the possibility of going to Italy" from Val d'Isère, sells Cécile Ferrando. A fashion called "slow tourism", adopted by Patrice and Marina. The couple, aged 70 and 62, who once travelled extensively, "have not flown since 2020", and now enjoy "our beautiful Europe by car and camping or lodging".

The train instead of the plane, not so easy

The mode of travel, the first factor in greenhouse gas emissions when we go on vacation, comes back insistently when it comes to redefining the way we travel. Like Celia, 28, who "preferred the train to spend a week of vacation in northern Italy" and is about to do the same to go to Berlin, even if "it's a little longer". The real black spot, according to her, remains the price: count "up to 450 euros for a weekend". "A small part of travelers will be attentive" to the issue of CO2, says Caroline Mignon, but "people are arranging with", among other components when choosing a holiday resort.

"Inflation, attention to security and flexibility of bookings" also counts, she points out, with an increase in last-minute bookings whose trend is confirmed. Behaviours have also evolved in other practices. "In the summer of 2020, holidaymakers were looking for more individual accommodation to avoid being in contact with others," explains the president of Sustainable Tourism Actors. An attention to comfort that was then confirmed. "Some people want to stay longer, sometimes even settle down all winter, put their children in school," reveals Cécile Ferrando.

"Desire for space and freedom"

A socially circumscribed phenomenon, but which illustrates a tendency to invest more in holidays to "get rich" and give meaning to your trip. "Taking time, meeting the inhabitants, looking for accommodation with a well-equipped kitchen to eat better can also be assimilated to a form of slow tourism," notes Caroline Mignon on these expanding phenomena. Still, not everyone reacted to the confinement by deciding to go on holiday less far.

"The confinement of confinement made us want space and freedom," says our reader Virginie. From now on, the forty-year-old, her husband and her sons go "abroad and in clubs: no headache, suitcase with only clothes". "The situation has taught us not to postpone," said Frédéric, 48. His family, accustomed to short holidays in France, began to save "to afford for the first time a real little trip, in Scotland. It was a click actually."



Benoît, for his part, has "resumed his tours every summer and is waiting for the discovery of new countries". "We are not yet on mainstream green tourism," admits Caroline Mignon, who wants to emphasize the incentive apart from "sustainable consumption trends". "The shift is underway but we did not take it as quickly and frankly as desired," she concludes.

  • Covid 19
  • Society
  • Containment
  • Coronavirus
  • Deconfinement
  • Summer holidays