The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) issued a new report. It disclosed that the tourism industry in France saw its contribution to the GDP record a year-on-year increase of 6% in the previous year.
The contribution rose to a new high of about €246 billion. Most importantly, the Travel and Tourism sector is likely to make an even higher contribution this year.
It is expected to increase 8% from 2019 to reach €254.7 billion and would be about 9% of the GDP.
Visitor Interest
This year, France’s Travel and Tourism sector is expected to support 2.93 million jobs, which is about 76,000 higher than its past record.
Moreover, both domestic and international tourists are expected to increase their spending exponentially.
Domestic tourists are expected to spend €138.8 billion, while international ones are expected to spend €70.3 billion.
The President and CEO of WTTC, Julia Simpson talked about the growth of France’s Travel and Tourism industry.
She said that the sector was making records that had previously not been seen. They were beyond expectations.
She said that it highlighted the country as a premier destination and the data reflected its success. She also added that the Rugby World Cup had drawn visitor interest.
This was likely to repeat with the upcoming Olympic and Paralympics Games that are scheduled to happen later this year.
The industry
Last year, the Travel and Tourism industry in France saw a 4.7% increase in employment from 2019. About 172,000 new jobs were generated, which saw total employment go up to 2.3 million.
Every 1 in 11 jobs in the country is now from the Travel and Tourism sector. According to the WTCC report, there was also a considerable influx of international tourists in the country.
The total spending from these tourists was around €66.7 billion. As for domestic spending, it rose to €135 billion.
The WTCC forecast shows that there will be significant growth in various sectors of France in the next decade.
Not only will spending from domestic and international tourists rise, but there will also be a growth in the economy and employment.
Most popular destination
According to forecasts, the Travel and Tourism industry is expected to give France’s economy a boost of €310.5 billion by 2034.
This would be about 9.6% of the total economic output. Furthermore, the sector is also expected to drive job growth.
It is expected to employ about 11% of the population, which is equal to 3.4 million jobs. International tourists in France in the first half of 2024 were about 93% of the numbers recorded in the first half in 2019.
Therefore, France is expected to retain its title of the world’s most popular destination for international tourists this year as well.
