France tops world tourism league ... again

France was the world’s top tourist destination again last year, keeping a position it has held since the 1990s, with 83 million foreigners visiting in 2012.

Tony Cross

The new figure beat the previous record of 81.4 million foreign visitors in 2011, according to the annual report on tourism from France's international competitiveness agency, the DGCIS.

The tourism top 10 in 2012 (number of visitors staying over 24 hours):

1. France: 83 million;
2. USA: 63.3 million;
3. Spain: 58.7 million;
4. China: 58.6 million;
5. Italy: 46.1 million;
6. Turkey: 36.7 million;
7. United Kingdom: 29.2 million;
8. Germany: 28.4 million;
9. Malaysia: 24.1 million;
10. Mexico: 23.4 million.
     

Eight out of 10 visitors come from France’s European neighbours, notably Germany (12.2 million) and Britain (12.1 million), and stay an average of six nights.

Asian visitors, many from China, India or Japan, make up only 4.8 per cent of the total but their number is rising with an increase of 9.9 per cent in 2011.

While the number of tourists from America, Africa and Oceania fell after growing in 2011, visitors from the emerging Bric economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) leapt 21 per cent.

Tourists spent 35.8 billion euros in France in 2012, up 6.3 per cent on 2011, contributing 7.5 per cent of GDP as recession has hit other sectors.

France’s attractions extend beyond its world-famous museums and historic monuments. Visitors also come for the food – French gastronomy is recognised by Unesco as part of the world’s heritage -, the wine, the skiing and the Riviera beaches.

Despite a rain-drenched spring and economic gloom at home, the tourism ministry predicts good results for 2013, with a 7.0 per cent rise in visits to ski resorts over the winter of 2012-2013.