The Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame de Paris and bye-bye… torrents of foreign visitors stroll through the streets of the capital to enjoy summer for a short stay. Often considered a major destination for international tourism, France prides itself on welcoming more than 100 million visitors to its territory each year, which represent around 30% of tourism revenues in France, according to INSEE. But the postcard may be misleading. The Prime Minister, François Bayrou, hosts an inter-ministerial committee in Angers (Maine-et-Loire), Thursday, July 24, in order to sketch a strategy for the sector, following a conference organized at the beginning of the month by Atout France, the tourism development agency.
On paper, tourism seems to be in the Olympic form, with 102 million visitors last year – a figure growing of 2%. France is once again a leader in this ranking, ahead of Spain (93.8 million) and the United States (72.4 million). But beware of suspicions of doping: we must rather talk about “100 million international arrivals”Corrects to Franceinfo Patrick Eveno, lecturer associated with the Institute for Research and Higher Studies of Tourism (IREST), at Paris-I University.
“The same person coming to France three or four times a year may be counted as many times”, underlines the researcher, who takes the example of a Dutch family of four people, on the way to spend fifteen days in Spain. If she stops one night in Futuroscope, she will be counted for four in France, and again for four on the return, if she chooses to stop again to spend the night. Eight arrivals in total for two nights. With this calculation method, “Spain, on the other hand, will have counted only four international arrivals for two weeks. We can clearly see the limits of the indicator promoting this leadership effect in trompe-l’oeil.”
“You have a lot of northern countries that take advantage of our road infrastructure to go to Italy, Spain or Switzerland. But it is a appreciated transit.”
Patrick Eveno, economist specializing in tourism in franceinfoin franceinfo
France, because of its geographical location, records many transits, of the order of the night. These data are often plot, with variable methodologies depending on the region, regrets the researcher. “This idea of tourism leader was a lot conveyed and France fell asleep, Comments Patrick Eveno. And above all, we no longer seek too much to modify and refine the calculation of these figures. Because otherwise, there is a good chance that we are no longer a leader on arrival. “
These criticisms are also worth for neighboring countries, which each have their methodology. France, a tourism leader? “Overall, it was an optical illusionConfirms Sylvain Zeghni, lecturer at Gustave-Eiffel University. It has been a long time since France won in terms of revenue. ” Our country lost first place in the ranking in 1999, underlined An old note from INSEEAnd he still points to fourth position after the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom. With 71 billion euros in 2024, according to Asset Franceit remains far from 126 billion garnered by our neighbor on the other side of the Pyrenees.
The counting of nights confirms this analysis. Last year, Spain recorded 322 million nights of foreign visitors, ahead of Italy (253 million), according to national data compiled by The European Eurostat agency. Far behind, France (140 million) is barely better than Greece (128 million).
France has some well -identified poles, such as Paris. “The capital gives 2.5 days on average visit to its foreign visitors, which is logical for a capital”Analysis Patrick Eveno. On the French Riviera, stays have a “Duration of less than a week”Which remains above average in France. The duration of the stay is significantly the same in winter sports stations, for example in the Alps. Disneyland is the first tourist site in France, with 15 million visitors, half of which are international visitors. But for short stays.
Foreign visitors seem to be moving on the rest of the territory, while they take their time on the Costa Brava. All actors agree: Spain manages to keep tourists longer on its territory. The Iberian country is now perceived as a must for seaside tourism, and has a good value for money. In 2021, catering prices were 7% lower than the EU average, when they were 17% higher in France. Independent French hotels are rather aging and have an average of a forty rooms, adds Patrick Eveno.
“The Spanish model is the hotel where we stay ten days or two weeks, because it is a little cheaper, while in France, they will be campsites where we spend a little less and over shorter periods”summarizes the researcher. But Spain “also renewed its tourism policy fifteen years ago, to go beyond the large buildings by the sea. The image of Barcelona and Madrid has renewed and attracts young people, customers of the future, when it is not much at night in Paris”Add Sylvain Zeghni. Spain also takes advantage of its sunshine, its good services and the weight of cruises, at the risk of fueling surcourism.
In France, while the sector has long had the quantity of visitors for Mantra, with this 100 million objective, it is now the quality of these foreign tourists – or rather the level of associated revenues – which agitates professionals. It remains to attract the most expenditure.
This mission was entrusted to Atout France, which is both an economic interest group and an agency of state operators. “This hybrid system has difficulty ensuring a real promotion as in Spain or Italy, with a more commercial way to do things”observes Patrick Eveno. According to him, it is events like the Tour de France or the Olympic Games which mainly disseminate the image of our country.
“France has done too long tourism from ‘Cueillette’, contenting itself with exploiting essentials such as the Eiffel Tower, Wine and Beautiful Landscapes.”
Sylvain Zeghni, researcher specializing in tourismin franceinfo
The accessibility of the territory is one of the levers discussed. Paris is a huge airport center, with 100 million passengers per year, far ahead of the 15 million Nice. “But if you are American, for example, it is difficult to come to the Ile de Ré. International tourism is poorly adapted to journeys that are not linear”, explains Patrick Eveno. International tourism is still struggling to irrigate the entire French territory, for lack of encouragement to get out of the capital. “Why not install tourist offices in Paris for the different regions?”, wonders the researcher.
Tourist recipes, in Europe and elsewhere, are often based on low -cost flights and frequented airports, which raises questions in full climate change. In any case, low-cost has developed new destinations for young people throughout Europe, further strengthening competition on the continent. In the past, “We tended to set goals on a distant clientele, especially AsianAdd Sylvain Zeghni. These visitors spend a lot, of course, but they do not stay long and will not necessarily come back, because it is sometimes the journey of a life. ” Especially since Paris faces fierce competition, in London, Vienna or elsewhere, “To become their final destination in Europe, the one where they will make all their luxury purchases before returning”.
The development of business tourism is one of the tracking tracks. Taxis, hotels, restaurants … In equal volume, it generates three times more expenses than leisure tourism. “When Germany tickles us with revenues, it is not thanks to its beaches, but thanks to business tourismsummarizes Patrick Eveno. There is no airport as big as in Paris, but there are many who make 30 or 40 million passengers, which ensures accessibility. ” Business tourism has the advantage of working all year round, when leisure tourism is lacking.
If France wants to generate 100 billion euros in international revenue, as the president of the Alliance France Tourisme, Dominique Marcel, called for. French tourism players could seek to go upmarket. In any case, they will have to convince foreign visitors to stay longer in the territory. “France is not a leader in volume, but it may be for its plurality of tourism: skiing, festivals, seaside resorts, rural destinations …Smiles Patrick Eveno. However, to develop the revenues, you must now have a long -term strategy, which is lacking today. “
