A real human tide. Like every four years, the pontoons of the port of Saint-Malo were taken by storm during the All Saints holidays for the start of the Route du Rhum. The 2022 vintage is even that of all records with 1.5 million visitors recorded in thirteen days in the corsair city.
“Falkland attendance has doubled compared to a usual period”, according to a study published by Ille-et-Vilaine Tourisme. The peak was reached on Saturday November 5 with 141,000 visitors who gathered to observe the boats and greet the skippers just before the start of the race.
The postponement of the departure spoiled the party a bit
Usually, the day of the start of the single-handed transatlantic sailing race is also full. But the weather conditions came to spoil the party this year, leading to a postponement of the departure, initially scheduled for Sunday November 6, to Wednesday November 9. “This departure did not experience a peak in attendance as in previous editions”, underlines the departmental tourism committee.
In detail, 93% of visitors who walked the pontoons of Saint-Malo for the start of the Route du Rhum are French, including 48% who live in Ille-et-Vilaine. The foreign clientele was still there, starting with the British neighbours.