The French National Tourist Office, Atout France, has revealed a study about the potential of France as a touristic destination for the new middle class that formed in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
In the past few years, the purchasing power of the middle class in Southeast Asia increased significantly. Moreover, their desire to travel internationally also became quite prominent. French tourism stakeholders now plan to target Southeast Asia and attract travelers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
The study organized by Atout France, in partnership with Accor and Paris Airport, aimed to identify the tourist potential of the three markets revealing that the middle class is highly interested in France as a holiday destination.
It is estimated that within the next five years the annual growth rate of Indonesia is 6.6%, of Thailand 6% and Malaysia 5.3%. In terms of per capita GDP, these three countries are already ahead of China.
The economic boom allowed the emergence of a new middle class that represents 237.4 million people in the three countries, which is about 68% of their total population. The projections estimate a potential of 24.5 million people who can afford to travel to Europe, including France, in 2015. For 2020 this amount is estimated to reach 30.8 million.
Until 2020, the French tourist board expects that the number of visitors from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia will double reaching 1 million tourists.