Holiday in France is again in focus. The number of overnight stays in collective tourist accommodations (hotels, residences, campsites, etc.) reached 60.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. This is a sharp increase of 7.8% over one year, according to the latest data on tourism in France.
Tourist attendance even rose up by 9.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. A progression that makes it possible to exceed the level prior to the attacks of 2015, which had heavily harmed the sector.
Among the trends already noted in previous quarters is the fact that the foreign visitors are finally coming back. Their attendance (+ 11.2%) increased more than that of French residents (+ 6.5%). The attendance of local tourists however increases the most when examining the data for the last three years. (+ 12.4%, against + 4.6% for foreign visitors).
In the hotel industry, overnight stays grew by 5.2% over one year to 45.5 million overnight stays. The increase was largely driven by foreign customers (+ 11.2%), particularly in Île-de-France and on the coast.
Progress in other types of collective accommodation (tourist residences, holiday villages, family houses, etc.) was stronger, at around 16.6% over one year. Unlike the hotel industry, it is mainly related to French residents (+ 18.8%, against + 8.4% for non-residents).
The Ile-de-France and the provincial towns benefited the most from the boom of tourism in France. Mountain resorts near the ski areas also reported increased numbers thanks to the good snowfall during the Christmas holidays.
Another trend confirmed by these figures, the rebound of the Île-de-France. The region is supporting the growth of tourism in France, as in the previous three quarters.
All types of accommodation benefitted from the positive changes. The hotel industry in the Paris region is experiencing its best fourth quarter since 2010. There was an increase of 8.8% to 17.2 million overnight stays. The rise is even more spectacular in other collective accommodation in the region: + 32.7% to 2.8 million overnight stays.
Online travel sales also jumped up 13% in 2017, year-over-year. This is significantly better than in 2016 (+ 3%) or in 2015 (+ 4%). Moreover, bookings of business trips increased by 8.5% in 2017 in contrast to 2016. The recovery of tourism in France is thus confirmed.
