Economic effect of a booming airport

ALTHOUGH airlines are always keen to start new routes to France, if financially viable, just what impact do they have on the local economy?

The tourism trade and property sector are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries, but as the residents of Deauville highlighted the welcome mat is not always rolled out.

A study last year by Périgord Développement into the impact that British visitors have on Dordogne and the surrounding region found they brought an extra €130 million into the local economy.

Périgord Développement questioned 700 people arriving at Bergerac Airport, a quarter of whom were visiting family, and discovered that visitors spent an average of €85 a day on things such as accommodation, gifts and leisure activities.

Two thirds of arrivals were aged between 35 and 65, but 23 per cent were aged between 18 and 34, an increase of 6 percentage points on previous figures.

It is likely that many of these young people were visiting friends and family, but the appeal of the French way of life is clearly growing amongst younger families.

For those people settling in the region, Périgord Développement said that 369 Brits have registered a business in Dordogne, 173 in Lot and 167 in Lot and Garonne.

Whilst the number of people travelling into Bergerac has increased from a little over 16,000 in 2001 to around 240,000 last year, and although a environmental tax on tickets may slow down such growth, it is clear Brits are still keen to live life the French way.

Related article:
Impact of low cost airlines

Comments

[DAVECHEES]

Last Sunday our return Ryanair flight could not land at Bergerac. With no alternative flights available we were all left to make our own way home with no offers of bussing or anything.Our emergency return trip cost us only £540 with RyanAir agreeing to refund &97. It could have been a lot more. Our travel insurance will not cover this.
Surely this cannot be allowed to happen. Many families with young kids left to fend etc. What if someone had turned up skint with only the useless plane ticket? With no one from RyanAir the chamber of commerce staff were left to sort this out (not that they did anything)
We were lucky to get a Hertz car at 198E for 24 hrs. Could they not have helped more? Perhaps RyanAir could have advised us of this possibility -it has happened before! Perhaps they could sell us a policy to cover it?
Would anyone else like to send in claims to them as we have done?

[Craig McGinty]

Hi

I think this is something that should be taken up with the Air Transport Users Council, please see:

http://www.caa.co.uk/

They will be able to tell you if you are entitled to compensation under EU regulations.

Hope this helps.

Craig