France targets tourism revenues of 100 billion euros annually by 2030
Paris on July 24/ WAM/ French Prime Minister Francois Bayro announced today a strategic plan aimed at raising international tourism revenues to France to 100 billion euros annually by 2030, an increase of 29 billion euros compared to 2024 revenues, which amounted to 71 billion euros.
Bayro, during the meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee for Tourism in the city of Angé, was brought in a set of measures aimed at enhancing France’s position in the global tourist market.
Although France tops the list of countries in terms of the number of foreign visitors in 2024, which amounted to 100 million, it ranks fourth in the world only in terms of international tourism revenues, behind countries such as Spain, which achieved 126 billion euros of revenue despite receiving fewer visitors.
Experts attributed this difference that the duration of tourists in France is shorter, which reduces the size of their spending.
In this context, Dominic Marcel, head of the “France Torresum” coalition, stressed the need to move from a quantitative approach to a qualitative approach to tourism management and said that reaching the number 100 million visitors “does not mean much if it is not accompanied by an increase in the average tourism spending”, explaining that tourism today is measured by its added value and not only by the number of nights or visitors.
According to the European Commission data, the average tourism period for foreigners in France is shorter compared to Spain and Italy, which is partly explained by the low level of revenue.
In 2023, France recorded 138.5 million tourist nights, a number that places it in the third European place after Spain (301.7 million) and Italy (234.3 million).
For his part, the French Prime Minister stressed that his government will depend on the proposals of the tourism sector itself in order to simplify the procedures and develop the infrastructure, and he explained that “the sector provides initiatives, and the government undertakes their implementation through organizational decrees.”
Among the most prominent procedures is the launch of a plan for the housing of the seasonal workers for the period between 2026 and 2028, which is one of the sensitive points in the tourism sector.
French Tourism Minister Natalie Delate explained that the sector represents 8% of the gross domestic product of France, equivalent to 200 billion euros and providing two million non -transportable jobs, which makes it a strategic pillar of the national economy.
To keep pace with global competition, the official authorities and experts stressed the necessity of updating hotels and residence facilities, and improving the experience of the tourist in France, especially with regard to services, communication, and cultural and recreational activities, and the decision makers hope that this transformation will lead to prolonging the duration of the tourist, and thus increasing spending rates for each visitor.
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