Tourism in France: exceptional results in 2022

The World Trade Organization (WTO), had foreseen the trend as early as January, predicting that arrivals of international tourists in major tourism reception countries could reach in 2022 80% to 95% of their pre-pandemic levels. But France has done better, overpassing these figures in 2019!

Strong appetite for France

Reaching a total result of 58 billion euros in revenues in 2022, i.e. a 1.2 billion increase compared to 2019, the figures of tourism in France truly reached a record. Indeed, “revenues in value benefit from a price effect” because of inflation, an “pull results”. Furthermore, Atout France, the agency for tourism development in France, thinks that Google search data analysis (in relation with projects of travels to France) confirms that “the appetite of international clients for France”.

However, these good results hide differences between various tourist markets. And the good performances from North America and pickup in the UK, and the existence of loyal clients such as Belgians, Germans or Spanish, balance in part the still-eroded situation in Asia. Atout France indeed notes that flows from Asia, and China and Japan in particular, are still weak, even though a light increase of these flows in late year is registered. Likewise, India, South Korea and Australia showed growth trends. In December only, Israel, Spain, Canada and Mexico generated strong changes towards France.

Paris and French cities

All French regions seem to benefit from this pickup of attractiveness, but, according to Atout France, Paris was lagging in the pickup trend after being impacted by the Covid crisis before “growing again thanks to international clients and a faster than anticipated pickup of clients”. To the point that, in December, the hotel occupation rate was higher than the 2019 figures.

Among the other French regions raising the enthusiasm of international tourists, it should be noted that larger urban hubs attract the most. Besides Paris and its region, more French hubs (excluding the mountain and beaches regions) register a hotel occupation rate of more than 17%. In December, three regions benefit from a truly seductive trend: the Grand Est, Occitanie and Île-de-France regions, which registered the best performances in terms of occupation rate compared to 2019.

Nice prospects despite a special and competitive context

Data about forecasted rates in the hotel industry and air transports, that Atout France already has, lead to predicting a first quarter in 2023 with optimism, despite a still-difficult context both on the economic and geopolitical aspect, and the competition aspect.

At national scale, says the agency, the booking rate in hotels is 7 points ahead or the February to April period, compared to 2022. Indeed, order intakes in air transport industry tend to increase month after month. But Atout France says that “even though French destinations were usually less impacted by the crisis than our closest neighbours”, the main competitor of France in terms of tourism, Spain, reached a leadership position in Europe in 2022.

Discover more

• Atout France Trend Keynote
• WTO prospects