HomeEntertainmentFrance again tops list...

France again tops list as world’s most popular tourist destination

France again tops list as world's most popular tourist destination
The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France at night. Photo by AFP

Olympic host France retained its spot as the world’s top tourist destination in 2024 with 100 million visitors, holding off stiff competition from countries including Spain, the tourism ministry said on Tuesday.

As world tourism returned to pre-pandemic levels with 1.4 billion people taking a trip abroad, according to the UN, both France and Spain announced record visitor numbers.

“While France is still the world leader in this sector, we are facing fierce competition, particularly from Spain,” said French Tourism Minister Nathalie Delattre in an interview on Tuesday with the daily Le Figaro.

Spain said last week that a record 94 million foreign tourists flocked to the Iberian nation in 2024, a 10% increase from the previous year.

France, which hosted the Olympic Games in July – September 2024, welcomed two more million visitors in 2024, an increase of 2% compared with 2023.

But although France had more visitors, they spent less than those in Spain — 71 billion euros ($74 billion) compared with 126 billion euros in Spain.

“We need to work to increase the average each visitor spends and get our visitors to stay longer,” Delattre said.

France’s takings from international tourists rose by a total of 12% year-on-year, driven largely by Belgian, English, German, Swiss and U.S. citizens, the tourism ministry said in a statement.

Overnight stays by U..S tourists rose by 5%, the ministry added, calling the Americans “a key clientele” with strong purchasing power.

Despite the return of customers from Asia, the number of Chinese visitors to France remained 60% lower than before the pandemic.

Thirty percent fewer Japanese visited the country than in 2019.

Good snowfall in late 2024 meanwhile drove a rebound for the end-of-year holidays as snow sports lovers flocked to the French ski slopes.

“The outlook for the first quarter of 2025 is very good, with visitor numbers on the rise,” the ministry statement added.

- A word from our sponsors -

spot_img

Most Popular

More from Author

These apes can tell when humans don’t know something, study finds

Some great apes realize when a human partner doesn’t know something...

Why ‘cardiac clearance’ could save your life

You have probably already heard that February is the month to...

Biggest quake yet could be still to come on Greek tourist island, seismologist warns

The seismic activity rattling Santorini and other Greek islands is not...

- A word from our sponsors -

spot_img

Read Now

These apes can tell when humans don’t know something, study finds

Some great apes realize when a human partner doesn’t know something and are capable of communicating information to them to change their behavior, a new study shows. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University studying bonobos found that they would point to where treats were hidden if they could see their human partner didn’t...

Why ‘cardiac clearance’ could save your life

You have probably already heard that February is the month to focus on heart health, which means eating right, exercising and paying attention to the signs of heart attack, stroke and more. As a urologist, I see a different side of heart health every day: Many of my patients need “cardiac...

Biggest quake yet could be still to come on Greek tourist island, seismologist warns

The seismic activity rattling Santorini and other Greek islands is not over and the biggest quake yet could be still to come, a seismologist has warned. Rémy Bossu, Secretary-General of the European-Mediterranean Siesmological Centre, said “days, or perhaps, weeks” would be needed to evaluate the unusual tremors but...

They met on vacation and became best friends. Then they recreated their favorite photo 30 years later

Friends Scott Behringer, George Gilbert and Tim Korber always refer to the 1994 beach picture of the three of them in Cabo San Lucas as their “iconic photo.” In the shot, the trio are standing side-by-side, arms crossed and baseball hats facing backward, their colorful swim shorts and...

Solo but not alone. Connecting through travel on Valentine’s Day, beyond.

Shakeemah Smith isn't staying at home on Valentine’s Day just because she’s single. "I'm going to treat myself to a weekend in Dubai,” said the solo travel expert known as The Passport Abuser on social media. “I'm going to be living my best life.” In a survey of 2,000 Americans last year, travel search...

Scientists find that things really do seem better in the morning

UCL study into mental health and wellbeing finds that people generally feel worse at night and on Sundays Nightmare day at work? Date stand you up? Don’t worry, things really will seem better in the morning. In the most comprehensive study of its kind, scientists have found that generally,...

I got an ebike – and discovered a secret side of France

Free to explore my hilly corner of the countryside, I found hidden paths to sacred springs, prehistoric monoliths, empty swimming holes … When I moved from London to a hilly area of rural France in 2017, I brought my bike with me. A faithful secondhand racer, it had served me...

The one change that worked: I took up ballet – and learned to live in the moment

Working long days as a corporate lawyer, I needed an exercise regime to get me out of my head. Reviving a childhood passion helped me reconnect with my body My earliest memories of ballet will be familiar to many childhood dancers: ribbons, shoe fittings, hairspray (lots of it)....

A Complete Unknown: how charity shop and Etsy finds completed iconic Dylan look

Film’s costume designer explains how a scarf made from a blanket and some custom-made Levi’s formed key part of Timothée Chalamet’s wardrobe It’s as central to Bob Dylan as a harmonica – it is, of course, a scarf, Dylan’s preferred accessory, and one that has become a go-to...

New Jeans เดินหน้าต่อ ประกาศเปลี่ยนชื่อวงเป็น NJZ เตรียมเปิดโชว์แรกที่ฮ่องกง

ก่อนหน้านี้ได้เป็นมหากาพย์ดราม่าสั่นสะเทือนวงการ K-POP ระหว่างค่าย HYBE กับ "มินฮีจิน (Min Hee Jin)" อดีต CEO ของ "ADOR" ซึ่งเป็นบริษัทในเครือของ HYBE ที่เป็นผู้สร้างวงเกิร์ลกรุ๊ปคลื่นลูกใหม่ "NewJeans (นิวจีนส์)" ที่ได้มีปัญหาดราม่าต่างๆ เกิดขึ้นมากมาย ซึ่ง 5 สาว NewJeans ได้ออกมาตั้งโต๊ะแถลงข่าวว่า NewJeans จะทำการยุติสัญญากับ ADOR ภายในเที่ยงคืนของวันที่ 29 พ.ย. 2024 พร้อมกับบอกว่า แม้ว่าอาจจะไม่สามารถใช้ชื่อ NewJeans ได้อีก แต่พวกเธอจะพยายามต่อสู้เพื่อรักษาสิทธิในชื่อวงต่อไป อีกทั้งบอกอีกว่า NewJeans มีแผนที่จะปล่อยเพลงใหม่และออกทัวร์รอบโลกในปีหน้า และถ้าเป็นไปได้ อยากร่วมงานกับ มินฮีจิน อดีต CEO ต่อไป และหลังจากที่แฟนๆ รอคอยกันมายาวนาน ล่าสุด (7 ก.พ....

Attention federal employees: It may be hard to get a private sector job right now

In an effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the Trump administration is prodding government employees to shift to the private sector for the next stage of their careers. But it may not be that simple. Eligible federal workers initially had until Thursday to accept the administration’s deferred...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants to bypass the Fed to lower interest rates

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a new plan in the fight to bring down historically high interest rates, and it’s got nothing to do with the Federal Reserve. Bessent, in two interviews this week, said the Trump administration wants to focus on lowering long-term interest rates, which are...