Tourist attendance in France reached a record level in 2017 with 429 million registered overnight stays, which is 5.6 percent higher compared to the previous year, announced the statistical institute Insee on Tuesday.
In all types of tourist accommodations (hotels, camping, tourist resorts, etc.), there were 23 million more overnight stays in 2017 compared to 2016, achieving a record level.
These are the first official data on tourist arrivals in France for 2017. The government had already mentioned a record year and 89 million foreign guests, but has not yet released definitive data.
“Increased attendance applies to all types of accommodation and guests,” specifies the institute.
The hotel industry was significantly affected by the decline in attendance following the terrorist attacks in 2015 and 2016, but in 2017 it recorded an increase of 4.9 percent.
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The Insee institute emphasizes that Airbnb-type rentals still exist, but do not hinder hotels in major cities from achieving record attendance of foreign guests, which increased by 8.8 percent in 2017.
Tourism accounts for about 7 percent of France’s GDP. According to data from the Banque de France, tourism revenues in 2016 amounted to about 49 billion euros, and for 2017, the institute predicts around 54 billion euros, based on data that is not yet final.
