Cannes rolls out red carpet

04 Aug 2015  2041 | World Travel News

CANNES  While some residents have grumbled at the closure of a beach for his French Riviera holiday, King Salman and his 1,000-strong entourage are winning hearts in Cannes, where their big-spending ways are cheered by local traders.
The Saudi monarch’s choice of Vallauris Golfe-Juan near Cannes for his holiday in the sun has generated mixed emotions in the area.
Tens of thousands of people signed a petition protesting the closure of a beach next to his villa for the duration of his visit, a move aimed at shielding the royals from the public glare.
But for every naysayer there is a business owner gleefully welcoming the visitors’ profligacy.
inside no 8Every morning, Saudi families are to be seen ambling along the Croisette, the ritzy palm-tree-lined seafront boulevard where film stars gather for the Cannes Film Festival each May.

inside no 8.1


From Chanel to Prada to Hermes they flit from one luxury store to the next while outside a line of gleaming sports cars waits to whisk them off to their hotel or yacht, or, later, to the nightclubs of Saint-Tropez.
“We are very lucky that the king of Saudi Arabia, and with him a delegation of over 1,000 people, chose the region for their holidays,” Michel Chevillon, manager of the Croisette Beach hotel and president of the Union of Cannes Hoteliers said.
“July will be an exceptional month, with revenues up 15% to 20% on last year,” he enthused.
The king’s French sojourn has also been a shot in the arm for seasonal employment, with more hands than usual on deck in hotels to ensure the visitors’ every need is fulfilled.
“They’re demanding clients. You have to have people at their disposal,” Chevillon said.
In accommodation alone the Saudis are spending 8 to 9 million euros (USD8.8 to USD9.8 million) over their three-week visit but other sectors are also getting a boost.
inside no 8.1“My turnover is up 50% this holiday season thanks to the Saudis,” Sander Smids, a Cannes-based Dutch florist, said.
“Every day the ‘palace’ (the king’s villa) orders flowers from us, as do the big hotels and the yachts. They want the arrangements to be impressive. Sometimes it’s hard to make them fit inside a car!”
Given the cash injection many traders take a dim view of those who rail about the temporary closure to the public of Mirandole beach, next to the royal villa. A police sign at the site declares the beach out of bounds “under the right of the residence of the king of Saudi Arabia.”
The Nice-Cote d’Azur Chamber of Commerce on Thursday called for an end to bathers’ grumbling, warning of the “risk of the delegation shortening their stay and of endangering future visits for years to come.”

sourced:ttrweekly.com 

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