France has maintained its position as the world’s top tourist destination in 2024, welcoming 100 million international visitors, according to the French Tourism Ministry.
Despite facing fierce competition from Spain, which also saw record-breaking tourist numbers, France’s iconic attractions and successful hosting of the Olympic Games helped boost visitor numbers by two percent compared to 2023.
In a recent interview with Le Figaro, French Tourism Minister Nathalie Delattre emphasized that while France continues to lead in global tourism, the competition, particularly from Spain, remains intense.
“While France is still the world leader in this sector, we are facing fierce competition, particularly from Spain,” Delattre stated.
Spain announced last week that it had attracted 94 million foreign tourists in 2024, a ten percent increase from the previous year, underscoring the growing rivalry between the two nations.
Spain’s surge in tourism, however, has been accompanied by significantly higher spending, with foreign visitors to the Iberian nation contributing a record 126 billion euros to the economy.
In comparison, France saw tourism revenue of 71 billion euros, which, while impressive, remains significantly lower than Spain’s takings.
The increase in French visitors was largely driven by European tourists, with notable growth from Belgium, England, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States.
The ministry highlighted the U.S. market as particularly significant, with overnight stays by American tourists rising by five percent. “The Americans are a key clientele with strong purchasing power,” Delattre said.
Despite the surge in European visitors, France is grappling with challenges in regaining visitors from Asia.
The number of Chinese tourists to France remains 60 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels, and the number of Japanese visitors is still 30 percent below 2019 figures.
While these declines reflect broader trends in global travel patterns, the French tourism industry continues to adjust strategies to cater to international visitors as global travel recovers.
Another area where France is seeing growth is in its ski tourism sector. The French ski resorts benefited from excellent snowfall in late 2024, prompting a strong rebound in the number of visitors seeking snow sports during the end-of-year holidays.
This uptick in winter tourism is expected to carry momentum into early 2025, with projections indicating a positive outlook for the first quarter of the year.
Moving forward, Delattre pointed out that while France’s visitor numbers are impressive, there is still work to be done to boost visitor spending and encourage longer stays.
“We need to work to increase the average each visitor spends and get our visitors to stay longer,” she stated.
The French tourism ministry is expected to focus on strategies to improve the tourism experience and increase revenue per tourist, ensuring that the country remains competitive in the ever-changing global tourism landscape.
Overall, while France’s tourism sector continues to thrive, it must balance maintaining its visitor numbers with increasing revenue from tourism-related spending in the face of rising competition, particularly from neighboring Spain.
With Olympic legacies and future tourism campaigns on the horizon, France’s tourism industry appears poised for continued success in 2025.
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