It’s a small earthquake that might set the cups tingling. After decades of reigning at the top of the ranking of the most represented nation in Brittany, the British must give up their throne. According to the Reflet survey completed in 2022, the English neighbors had to step aside and settle for second place, to leave the title to the Germans. According to data collected by tourism organizations, German customers now represent 28% of foreign visitors to Brittany, compared to 20% for the British. A real fall for the English, who represented up to 34% of foreign tourists on the Breton peninsula.
The unexpected cardboard of a German author
This drop in attendance is not really a surprise for tourism professionals who knew that Brexit was going to penalize the comings and goings of the British. “The financial crisis and Brexit clearly played a role. We expected it, ”recognizes Jessica Viscart. A specialist in investigations, the deputy director of the Regional Tourism Committee is also not surprised to see the Germans taking the lead in the “ranking”. “They have always been present, in particular because Brittany is easily accessible to them”. Many communication actions were carried out towards the German, Belgian and Dutch markets. Unsurprisingly, it is these countries that favor Brittany for finding sumptuous landscapes and a great diversity of wild beaches.
Another unexpected element contributed to increasing the German clientele in Brittany. His name: Jörg Bong, better known as Jean-Luc Bannalec. This German author has had great success with his police investigations featuring Commissioner Dupin. From Concarneau to Pont-Aven, the landscapes of Finistère described by the author have been brought to the screen of several million German viewers. Free and unexpected publicity which obviously convinced thousands of tourists to head west to discover these settings.