Tourism
numbers are dropping in Normandy, and one industry leader is blaming… weather
forecasters.
Hervé
Lebel, creator of the Festyland fun park near Caen and founder of the Normandie Sites tourist website, says a focus on potential
rainfall is impacting visitor numbers.
Lebel
says there is too much focus on the negative by TV presenters when it comes to
the weather.
“Normandy
tourism relies heavily on Parisians, but when they watch the TV weather
forecast on a Thursday night and it suggests rain in Normandy at the weekend,
then no one comes and hotels lose 50% of their takings,' Lebel said.
“Forecasters need to know they can have a huge negative economic impact on the
region. They have a huge responsibility.”
Lebel
says the term 'at risk of showers' is a major culprit in putting tourists off
visiting the region of Normandy, and is annoyed that forecasts are generalized
for a region of almost 650 miles.
“They
also give the impression that if it's going to rain in Cherbourg for example
then it's raining across the northern coast of France; we are given the
impression the weather is the same in Brest, Brittany as it is in
Pas-de-Calais,' Lebel added.
A quick
check by Open Jaw for this week’s forecast for Cherboourg revealed the
following: Tuesday, Rain; Wednesday, Scattered Showers; Thursday, Showers;
Friday, Scattered Showers. In Brest, the same days brought these results: Rain,
Thunderstorms, Rain, Showers. Maybe Lebel has a point.
He is
now hoping to pull the general public and politicians together and install
webcams around Normandy so weather forecasts can be more accurate from area to
area.
Normandy
is famous for being the site of the D-Day landings where Allied forces landed
on the beaches to plan a surprise attack on the Nazis during the Second World
War.
Millions
of tourists from all over the world visit the scenes where the battles took
place and the war monuments found throughout the region to remember those who
lost their lives.
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