Retired snowbirds

This article analyses a new mode of vacation, between short-term vacation and longer-term stay or seasonal migration. It looks at the thousands of French, who, each year between January and March, settle down with their recreational vehicles on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. This article examines their social and cultural profile, their behavior (among themselves, toward other tourists and the local populace), the reasons for their choice of location, and their attitudes toward the surrounding physical and human environment in order to understand the dimensions of this practice, which has developed independently of any political or tourist industry encouragement.

► The analyzed phenomenon has developed independently of the tourist industry.
► The group distinguishes itself by its social origins and limited RV use for travel.
► The group sees its stay not as a form of consumption, but as a time of “farniente.”