Holidays: between heatwave and anti-French sentiment, are Corsica’s beautiful tourist days behind us?

“Yes, you are a French shit”, the message is clear and is displayed in bright red letters on the walls of Bastia, a label that has something to cool tourists on holiday on the island of beauty, this is what the newspaper reveals Corsica-Morning. For a long time, Corsicans have had a reputation for protecting their island tooth and nail from summer overpopulation. Problem this year, a consequence of these anti-tourism campaigns or due to inflation, it seems we have heard, tourists shun the island of beauty.

And this is not without consequences for the island’s economy. Criticised, tourists continue to disrupt the local economy, so when hotels and other restaurants struggle to fill up, it’s all of Corsica that worries.

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In a long article dedicated to this drop in attendance, Le Figaro gives the floor to Karina Goffi, president of the Umih (Union of trades and hotel industries) of Corsica. According to her, “many are seeing a 20 to 50 percent drop in bookings for July and August. This is unheard of right now. All establishments are in the same boat, from motels to five-star hotels. The entire island economy is suffering.”

Should the prices be lowered?

And those who have chosen Corsica for their holidays seem to spend less once there, due to inflation and prices, which are sometimes inflated on the island. So the industry is asking, should they lower prices? Can the problem of hate against tourists be solved? In any case, Umih establishes a direct link between these labels that are flourishing in the city and the decline in attendance…

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The recent heat wave also raises the question of a change in tourist habits. Corsica, like all Mediterranean destinations, may eventually have to rely on end-of-season tourism, in spring or autumn, when temperatures are less stifling.