Summer 2026: Cannes confirms the resilience of its appeal
With 87% hotel occupancy in August and an ever-smoother season, the destination matched the record levels of 2025, according to Côte d'Azur France Tourisme's season review.
Translated from the French original. Lire en français
Cannes enjoyed a flourishing summer 2026. According to the season review presented by Côte d'Azur France Tourisme, accommodation, events and services indicators confirm sustained appeal heading into autumn, at levels close to the 2025 records.
In hotels, overnight stays rose 3% in June, with occupancy at 87% in both June and July. RevPAR, revenue per available room, jumped 13% in June and 4% in July before stabilising in August. Tourist residences posted 80% occupancy in June, while peer-to-peer rentals saw overnight stays rise 8% in June, 4% in July and 10% over the first half of August.
In Cannes itself, hotels recorded 82% occupancy in June, 84% in July and up to 87% in August, with furnished rentals up 2% across June and July. July dethroned August as the season's peak: in Cannes, Nice and Antibes, occupancy exceeded 85% in July, driven notably by American visitors, who accounted for up to 40% of guests in some Cannes 3- and 4-star hotels, with average rates up around 8%.
Events were a powerful driver of this footfall. The Festival d'Art Pyrotechnique, a true summer institution, drew nearly 700,000 spectators to La Croisette over its six evenings. Les Plages Électroniques broke its attendance record with 75,000 festival-goers in three days, and the eight Bal des Fous editions attracted more than 40,000 partygoers.
Accessibility underpinned the momentum: Nice Côte d'Azur airport offered 132 destinations in 47 countries with 62 airlines this summer, against 122 destinations and 44 countries in summer 2025, with seat capacity up 8% on average between June and September. The accommodation offering continues its move upmarket: 50% of classified rooms are now 4- or 5-star, and four Côte d'Azur properties hold the Palace distinction.
In total, the Alpes-Maritimes welcomed 12.5 million tourists over the summer period, as in 2025. Christine Welter, president of the Cannes hotel trade association, sees the result of a smoothed-out season: the traditional August peak has slipped into July, while June and September now post levels close to August. Business tourism is holding up too: nearly 100,000 conference delegates visited the Côte d'Azur, up more than 7%, with spending up 22% on 2025.
Not all professionals benefit from the footfall equally, however: restaurants suffered from heatwaves and from the trade-offs of French customers watching their purchasing power. Next season is already being prepared: Côte d'Azur France Tourisme has presented the main lines of its 2027 action plan at the Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice.
