The 2023 summer season in France saw a slight increase in overnight stays, primarily driven by foreign customers and campsites, according to INSEE figures.
According to the National Institute of Statistics (INSEE), from May to August, there were 249.4 million nights of hotel guests in "collective tourism accommodation," including hotels, campsites, and residences. This number is 600,000 more than in 2022. The number of overnight stays during the summer of 2023 is 3.3% higher than in 2019, before the health crisis.
Campsites had a strong summer season this year with 118.9 million overnight stays, an increase of 3% compared to 2022. However, hotels saw a 1.6% decrease in occupancy at 89 million nights. In some French territories, like Corsica, seasonal rentals compensate for hotel occupancy declines. According to INSEE, the success of camping alone is the reason behind excellent summer figures.
Foreign tourists have increased by 6.8% since summer 2022. However, domestic guests still account for two-thirds of overnight stays.
As per hotel stays, during the summer of 2023, hotels saw a significant increase in British guests, with a rise of 26.8%, totaling 4.9 million overnight stays. This increase accounted for over half of the 1.7 million additional foreign overnight stays during the season. American guests recorded 4.1 million overnight stays following the British, while German guests had 3.6 million.
In campsites, Dutch and German tourists had a combined total of 20.2 million overnight stays in 2022, with the Dutch remaining at pre-crisis levels and the Germans increasing by 10.8%.
Tourist numbers in coastal and mountain areas remained stable. Rural areas saw a 1% increase in nights, with campsites seeing a 3.1% increase.
From April to July 2022, accommodation revenue in France increased by 10.1%. This was driven by an increase in nights in hotels and campsites and a 4.5% price rise reflecting inflation.
