Travel and tourism in France - statistics & facts

In the past three decades, France has consolidated its reputation of global leading travel market thanks to an incredibly rich tourism offer, ranging from the world-famous attractions of Paris to the French Riviera and the picturesque towns in the Alps. Aside from the strong contribution of domestic visitors, generating around two-thirds of travel and tourism spending in France, the country is known for being the most visited global destination by inbound tourists. Despite the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, France maintained the top spot in the ranking of countries with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide, with arrivals bouncing back to nearly 80 million in 2022. While this figure did not catch up with the peak in travelers from 2019, it showed a strong sign of recovery, as the total contribution of travel and tourism to France’s GDP was less than 1.5 percent below pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

What are the leading inbound and outbound travel markets in France?

Both before and after the onset of the health crisis, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Belgium accounted for the highest share of international tourist arrivals in France. In 2022, these three markets combined represented more than 40 percent of arrivals in the European destination. Meanwhile, when breaking down the number of inbound hotel overnight stays in France by country, the UK emerged as the leading source market that year, ahead of the United States. On the other hand, two Mediterranean countries, Spain and Italy, ranked as the most visited travel destinations from France based on the share of departures in 2022, followed by the United Kingdom and Morocco.

Paris’ contribution to travel and tourism in France

Home of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, the most visited museum in the world, Paris is a key driver of the country’s inbound tourism market. Looking at the number of international tourist arrivals in leading city destinations in Europe, the French capital ranked ahead of London, Istanbul, and Barcelona in 2022, with over 19 million arrivals. When considering the total number of tourist arrivals to Paris and the Île-de-France region, including inbound and domestic travelers, this figure rose to approximately 44 million that year, roughly doubling from 2021 but staying below pre-pandemic levels.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Oct 20, 2023

Key insights

Total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in France
216.5bn EUR
Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in France
2.6m jobs
Share of domestic spending out of total travel and tourism expenditure in France
68%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in France in 2019 and 2022 (in billion euros)

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Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in France 2019-2022

International tourism expenditure in France in 2019 and 2022 (in billion euros)

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

International tourism spending in France 2019-2022

Number of international tourist arrivals in France from 2010 to 2022 (in millions)

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

International tourist arrivals in France 2010-2022

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Overview

Inbound tourism

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Outbound tourism

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Outbound tourism

Domestic tourism

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Domestic tourism

Accommodation

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Tourism in Paris
Tourism in Paris
Visitor attractions in Paris
Visitor attractions in Paris

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