Executive Summary

France has been a global leader in tourism for the past 25 years. It is a famous global

provider of beautiful sites such as the Alps, and a host for major international sporting events. In

the European region, the country leads in the tourist market and travel industry. Both domestic

and international tourism plays a major role on the performance of the French economy because

the revenues attributed to tourism industry make up 30% of the national income of France. The

main visited towns include, the capital City Paris, Toulouse, Nice, Lyon and Strasbourg. Even

though there are minor cities which the visitors may opt to visit, this 4 remain the major cities

hosting the important tourist attraction sites, and where which visitors would first search out as

potential destination points.

According to Bella (2018) in 2016 the tourism industry had a contribution to the GDP of

198.3 billion euros. Additionally, the industry created nearly 3 billion jobs, directly and

indirectly. Conversely, according to Corne (2015) France receives close to 200 million visitors

globally each year. Paris, the capital city, is the leading locations for international tourists. In

2016, the cost spent on accommodation in the city totaled around $ 13 billion. However, most

visitors come from the European countries; Asian visitors are increasingly considering visiting

the city too because 2016 registered a 25% increase in the number of the visitors that came from

Asian region.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization reported that France had the potential

to continue being the leading global tourist destination followed by Bangkok. The reason why

many people consider visiting France is because of the beautiful sceneries, sports, spectacular

coastlines, cuisines, exquisite accommodation such as Cap Estel, culture, Burgundy wines and

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the Disney land. Such provisions have given the country the opportunity to continue leading

globally as the best tourist destination in Europe and the world. Since the country contributes a

significant proportion of the GDP, the French government has strategized on sustainable tourism

management to ensure that the stream of income is not cut by factors that may hinder the

industry such as terrorism which had been reported in the recent years. Therefore, this paper

highlights the state of tourism in France as the leading tourist destination and the role of the

government in ensuring that the future of the tourism industry is bright.

The Government Strategy to improve Tourism in France

The government has set an objective to attain 100 million tourists by the year 2020. The

strategy put in place to reach such numbers involves putting in place promotional mechanism to

intensively promote awareness of the country across Europe and other Global regions. The

government is working on major aspects such as oenology and gastronomy, brands and

destinations, accommodation, business tourism, shopping, communication, reception and

training. The government looks majorly into promoting reception facilities, a factor to be

considered a national priority. Additionally, there are plans to focus financial resources on

brands that present a global limited destination, advancing digital technological such as high-

speed coverage and providing high skill training of the tourism professionals. The relevant

stakeholders and ministers are to hold a conference on which major decisions are to be made on

means to implement the goals of attaining the 100 million visitors by 2020.

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 Most Visited Inbound Tourism in France

Paris, Nice, Lyon, Toulouse and Strasbourg are the most visited regions in France.

Paris

Paris comes top on the list of the cities the visitors search and are interested to visit. It

boasts of many world class attractions such as monuments and museums. It is the home of the

famous Eifel Tower and Disneyland. It lies at the center of the French global communication

networks hence presenting itself as the most accessible French city.

Nice

It’s located On the Riveria between the azure Mediterranean waters and the rugged hills.

It has beautiful beaches, an excellent flower market, galleries and an old port. It also has

exquisite beaches such as long sweep. Internationals carriers serve its magnificent airport.

Lyon

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 This city provides an amazing visit area between Saone and Rhone. It presents an urban

town square. This town has attractions which UNESCO had declared world heritage artifacts,

providing a world heritage town. It has best museums and restaurants which visitors may spend

weekends for a look around.

Toulouse

Toulouse is an old town with a Mediterranean influence. It has historical buildings such

as the St. Basilica and the Cloisters which is a common visit area by the international tourists. A

place du capitol is also a tourist center offering a beautiful town square. Considered as a home to

Airbus, it has the world-renowned aerospace and aircraft museums.

The Media Image of France

Studies about the destination image of Paris revealed that the French capital has

a strong destination brand associated with romance and the art of living; however, a number

of media sources have recently described an issue of insecurity that Asian people are

experiencing when traveling to this destination. The Paris Syndrome, a condition

experienced by Japanese and Chinese tourists, indicates that Paris may convey a distorted

image as a result of changes that have taken place in the last few years. The aim of the

study was to understand how Asian students, given the current situation, perceive the image

of Paris as a destination. The mixed method was adopted in order to analyze the

characteristics that impact the respondents’ perception of a city, and to measure the

destination image of Paris by taking into account the holistic dimension of images.

According to Bella (2018) the results confirmed the assumptions related to recent media

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reports that Paris has destination image difficulties linked to the feeling of insecurity in the

large city and the general unwelcoming atmosphere.

Studies about the destination image of Paris revealed that the French capital has a

strong destination brand associated with romance and the art of living; however, a number

of media sources have recently described an issue of insecurity that Asian people are

experiencing when traveling to this destination.

The Paris Syndrome, a condition experienced by Japanese and Chinese tourists,

indicates that Paris may convey a distorted image as a result of changes that have taken

place in the last few years. The aim of the study was to understand how Asian students,

given the current situation, perceive the image of Paris as a destination. The mixed method

was adopted in order to analyze the characteristics that impact the respondents’ perception

of a city, and to measure the destination image of Paris by taking into account the holistic

dimension of images.

The thought of visiting France, Paris in particular brings the notion of romance and the

art of living among those who would love to visit the region. Destination image has a profound

impact on the number of visitors who intend to visit a particular region or those who have visited

and would wish to go back. Even though some Asian visitors to France had reported feelings of

insecurity and unwelcoming atmosphere in Paris, the City is known well around the world of its

romantic nature. The French language is also associated with loveliness of affection. Therefore,

visitors will come to France to profess their love power to their partners or renew it under or on

the Eiffel Tower.

The French tourist officers promote French as a city of lights in order to create an

ambience or atmosphere of love. The exquisite French luxurious brands such as Louis Vuitton,

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Channel and Dior also add to the perception carried out concerning France. Even though most of

the French resources are in the provinces, most tourists associate French with the capital because

it’s where they can get to purchase major products even though each city in France is quite

trajectory. Paris itself is very different because of the elements that make it up, which in people’s

eyes is very much unique. The capital is also known very much for its unique architecture and

the national representation- the Eiffel Tower, which in most cases is famously evoked by

tourists. Brochures and books when advertising Paris, usually take advantage of the varied

functions that can be found in the capital such as shopping, exhibitions, attraction sites and

festivals. The psychological and functional attributes related to the French capital is generally

rated positively, however, some visitors have an issue with the friendliness and receptive nature

of the professionals employed in the hospitality industry.

Performance of tourism Activity

However, from 2007 to 2011, during the review period total tourism activities greatly

declined. The reason for reduction in numbers was because of economic recession. There was an

increase in unemployment levels in addition to notable reduction of travel budgets by cooperate

business and to note that fuel prices had significantly increased. After 2011, the numbers started

increasing again as a result of a boost in the global economy. This greatly increased the inbound

arrivals. Starting from the 1990s, France continued to be a leading tourist destination. It had

registered more than 80 million tourists but its outbound tourists had declined at an annual

growth rate of –1.6% during the review period.

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Comparison between Spain and France as Destination for Tourists

The neighboring nation Spain also has a southern Mediterranean coastline which boasts

of towns such as Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, Granada and Barcelona. Granada, Seville and

Cordoba are highly travelled cities which are a few hours’ drive away. They have high

temperatures throughout the year because of the warm ocean current. This region has attraction

cites of which the UNESCO declared the world heritage sites such as the Alhambra Palace in

Granada.

Time Spent by Tourists in France

According to Thach and Cogan (2018) European tourists in France spent less than seven

nights in France. On the other hand, Asian tourist spent more than weeks while those from the

USA, although they make up only a small section of 8% of total visitor who visited France, spent

the longest as they stayed over two weeks during summer period. Tourists who visited for

Leisure are more compared to those who visited for shopping, work or education. English being

a dominant language in Europe and Britain, students who may seek to advance their studies in

France could be few due to the idea that the language for class instruction is English. Those who

came to shop for fashion and the cologne were a considerable number but still, more than those

who had vised for study purposes.

Seasonality of Tourists Patterns

The southern French has a very friendly environment with high temperatures during the

day. This is due to the fact that it borders the Mediterranean climate which usually has warmer

winters and hotter summers. (Thach and Cogan 2018) write that most visitors go to France when

the weather is pleasant; from April to October. July and August are usually very hot hence

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discouraging some out -door activities which are only enjoyed in pleasant weather. Those who

visit for shopping are regulated by the discount sales; where the government allows only retail

sales twice a year from; early January to mid-February and from Early June to mid-July.

For the Next Decades, France projects to have increased tourism to surpass 100 million

by 2020. However, since there are some reported instances of unskillful handling and lack of

warmness from the tourism professions, the government plans to provide training to

professionals in the tourism sector so as to minimize instances of bad experiences with such

professionals.

Strengths for future tourism in France

French boasts of several attraction sites which keep the visitors coming to experience the

scenic sites in the country. (Thach and Cogan 2018) write that the county has renowned fashion

icons who design brands such as Channel and Dior which keeps international shoppers coming

back for more. The world class accommodation offered across the French towns is a major

attraction to the visitors who may be seeking an extraordinary experience. The fashion industry

is considered the most sought over after beauty accessories. Therefore, shoppers are likely to

travel to French cities especially Paris to behold its rich nature and flavor for the fashion

industry.

The Opportunities

The country has is to intensify its exchange program by providing an alternative of

letting English be used as the main instruction Language from high school. This will open

France’ Universities to worldwide platform to students who may want to study diploma of their

choice in the in English language. The country also can actively be involved in creating new

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attractions that can attract activities throughout the year. Even though such measures could be

more profitable but it will have to be more costly so as to cover up the costs associated with

completely revamping the attraction sites.

Threats

The main threat that is likely to hinder French tourism industry is the issue of security.

The instances of terrorism that caused the death of individuals scare those who may be

considering visiting France as a destination of choice. Few individuals would be determined to

visit an area that has been involved in security issues. Another threat affecting the tourism

industry in France is the seasonality of the industry. Attracting people to tourism activities is

hard when it is not the season. Therefore, some activities only become attractive during the

season, such as sun bathing is only possible during the summers.

In conclusion, Tourism in France has been thriving for the past 25 years. Being a

developed country with a considerably higher GDP, France has a higher potential of maximizing

its earnings from tourism by actively intensifying its promotional campaigns in the media.

France has inherently performed very well towards the contributions of the world global tourism

statistics. The year 2020 is meant to steer the tourism industry to great tourism returns from the

mechanisms that are put in place to ensure that adequate focus is given to the industry as far as

development of the industry is important. Even though the country has undergone several periods

of stagnation or slump, its tourism performance is impressive and it has the potential to increase

its earnings from tourism if all the insecurity concerns are completely sealed. Though Paris

remains the most sought out after City other cities such as Lyon, Nice and Strasbourg host one of

the best attraction sites in France.

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 Personal Reflection of Investing in Tourism industry in French

I would personally invest in tourism industry in France since it demonstrates the ability to

stable returns shown by the pattern of visitors. The intensive promotional strategies by the

government will help increases the number of visitors in the country hence more returns are

likely to be experienced. The 2020 tourism objectives are geared towards providing an avenue

through which the number of visitors will reach 100 million, which will directly and directly

create more opportunities for employment both directly and indirectly.

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 References

Bella, G., 2018. Estimating the tourism induced environmental Kuznets curve in France. Journal

of Sustainable Tourism, pp.1-10.

Corne, A., 2015. Benchmarking and tourism efficiency in France. Tourism Management, 51,

pp.91-95.

Thach, L. and Cogan-Marie, L., 2018. Wine Tourism in Burgundy, France: An Analysis of

Marketing Practices. Tourism Review International, 22(1), pp.81-95.

UNWTO (2018). Tourism in the World. Retrieved from;

http://www2.unwto.org/publication/unwto-tourism-highlights-2018-edition

Wong, J.Y., Lee, S.J. and Lee, W.H., 2016. ‘Does it Really Affect Me?’Tourism Destination

Narratives, Destination Image, and the Intention to Visit: Examining the Moderating

Effect of Narrative Transportation. International Journal of Tourism Research, 18(5),

pp.458-468.

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