When wealthy merchants tell you that trade is not going well your immediate response is not to believe them, but when virtually all merchants will tell you the same thing and that stores are empty you start to ask questions, and this is what happens when you visit this summer 2008 the small village of St Tropez in the Var or the international jet set is usually used to take his summer since Brigitte Bardot has made this town fisherman's mecca for the jet set and millionaires.
In the bay of St. Tropez this year we see less grandiose yachts than in other years, and this may be one reason why the luxury shops are scowled and reckless spending boom years seem more concern that a small circle of super privileged.
When asked traders we realize that the economic crisis probably also affect the formerly flourishing luxury shops like those found on the small port of St Tropez as traders explain that when a few years ago a sale of more than 5,000 euros was considered normal must now be thankful when a customer purchases for 2000 or 3000 euro products.
Of course there are always a few exceptions like the very wealthy tourists, many Russians, who can buy for several tens of thousands worth of goods, but they are rare.
On the port too, there are many yachts over 40m, the yachts of very large fortunes, but the smaller yachts are also rare, which causes a drop in attendance.
Does that mean that only the super rich, billionaires, can still afford a vacation to destinations like St. Tropez luxury, and that others who are only rich, affected by declining purchasing power, must be satisfied with less luxurious vacation? It is quite possible, because even if they can still afford to pay what they want financiers do not know what will happen the next day certainly prefer to be cautious and not throwing money out the window.
Similarly, tourists who are still seemed less relaxed than in other years, especially when they are big financial holiday because this year it seems that instead of working holiday they take, and non-holiday Rest as in other years, since every morning they throw themselves on the economic and financial newspapers and on the share prices on the internet does not seem able to break the usual their summers on the Riviera.
Finally when you ask the owners and managers of hotels we realize that the situation is really grim, most schools are far from sold out, but we were also whispers that when a customer pays the lower his word Hotel Room 1500 euros per day on a private beach, it usually looks exceptional service, and it seems that in St. Tropez, this is not always the case. This may explain that.
If you also are or were clients of St Tropez thank you give us your views on whether other readers share.
