Overview

• Post-pandemic surge brings wealthier short-stay visitors treating surfing like a packaged holiday, reshaping once countercultural beach towns.
• Government data show surf-related emergencies in the southwest climbed to 363 last year, up from 143 in 2010.
• The French Surfing Federation values the sector at about €2.1 billion a year, with Hossegor home prices up 50% in five years and Landes hotel bookings up 20% over a decade.
• Growth in surf schools and tour groups has sharpened competition, with 65,000 certificates issued last year and a 31% jump in instructors since 2021.
• Mayors and instructors complain about large foreign-run camps, language gaps and safety rule breaches, as tensions escalate into incidents like the June shove reported by German surfer Maya Sauer at Seignosse.