Tourism in France

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mont Saint Michel Abbey , UNESCO World Heritage

The Tourism in France plays an important economic role. Around one million people work in the tourism sector; around ten percent of the gross national product is generated there. France was considered the most important tourist destination in the world in 2017 with 86.9 million foreign visitors. Paris and its surrounding area ( Île de France ), the Mediterranean coast (e.g. Côte d'Azur ) and the French Alps are important holiday regions. The country has 41 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (2015). About 20 percent of the foreign visitors in 2010 were Germans; Irish and British together 16 percent. Two thirds of the revenue came from domestic visitors. In 2017, foreign tourists brought the country more than $ 69 billion in revenue.

In the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 of the World Economic Forum, France ranks second out of 136 countries.

History of tourism in France

The Promenade des Anglais in Nice

The first major tourist destination was Hyères on the Mediterranean coast between Marseille and Nice . From around 1750 wealthy English came as spa guests for a few weeks in winter. The wide promenade built in Nice in 1822 still bears the name Promenade des Anglais ( English Promenade ). Wealthy Russians also came, some from 1896 on the Vienna-Nice-Cannes express . After the First World War , summer tourism began on the coasts. Domestic tourism increased from 1936 when the trade unions were able to enforce the right to two-week vacation in the Matignon agreements .

After the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924 , the ski areas in France were developed; the winter sports increased. After the Second World War , many French bought second homes to use or rent them out. Internal migrants tried to keep a house or apartment in their hometown. Today 90 percent of the French still vacation in their own country. In the 1950s, the French "invented" club holidays and founded Club Med . Large apartment blocks were built by the sea - e.g. B. in La Grande-Motte - and in the mountains - for example near Tignes or La Plagne - built.

The following table gives an overview of the development of the number of arrivals by international guests since 1995. International guests include all people who arrive from abroad and spend the night in the country at least once. The expenses incurred by these guests are also given (calculated in US dollars).

year Number of international guests revenue
1995 60,033,000 $ 31.295 billion
2000 77,190,000 $ 38.534 billion
2005 74,988,000 $ 52.139 billion
2010 76,647,000 $ 56.187 billion
2011 80,499,000 $ 66.087 billion
2012 81,980,000 $ 64,000 billion
2013 83,634,000 $ 66.060 billion
2014 83,701,000 $ 67.382 billion
2015 84,452,000 $ 66.419 billion
2016 82,570,000 $ 62.965 billion
2017 86,861,000 $ 69.894 billion

Destinations

Paris

The nine most-visited tourist destinations in the country are in Paris and the surrounding area. Business tourism and cultural tourism mix here: Louvre , Eiffel Tower and the Center Georges Pompidou are among the most popular attractions; Disneyland Paris , east of Paris, has the most visitors nationwide ; The Palace of Versailles is also located in the capital region . The metropolis offers hotel palaces such as the Hôtel Ritz , the Hôtel de Crillon or the Hôtel Lutetia , as well as museums , churches , opera houses , theaters, revues and large concert halls. Celebrities rest here on the Père Lachaise ; Trade fairs and fashion shows take place, in May / June the French Open . The city achieves the highest added value through visitors from Japan and the Arabian Peninsula.

French province

Coast: France has a coastline of around 3,120 kilometers. In many places there is bathing tourism in summer. The Mediterranean coast (and Corsica ) is much visited ; Also in Brittany , Normandy and on the Atlantic coast (the southern part is called Biscay ) there are places that attract bathers and water sports enthusiasts (e.g. surfers and sailors).

Places of historical importance: those interested in history can visit around 400 castles in the Loire , for example . The Lascaux Cave in Aquitaine represents the beginning of human settlement. The Douaumont ossuary and many other memorials in the Lorraine region around Verdun are a reminder of the First World War . Hundreds of German military cemeteries from both world wars are maintained by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge . There are the ways of remembering battles of the First World War; four routes are marked. People interested in Roman times come to Alesia in Burgundy; Also in Burgundy, a castle is being rebuilt in Guédelon using the resources of the Middle Ages . Another destination for this period are the Cathar castles in Languedoc-Roussillon . The time of the Second World War comes to life in the submarine repair yard in Brest on the Atlantic; various coastal towns in Normandy are reminiscent of the Allied landing in Normandy, Operation Overlord . Other destinations in military history are the Atlantic Wall and the Maginot Line .

Technology: Railway enthusiasts can discover the Corsican narrow-gauge railway or the tourist train in the Cotentin . Those interested in aviation can visit the Musée de l'air et de l'espace near Paris.

Art and culture: Anyone interested in painting can visit Claude Monet's studio in Giverny in Normandy or follow in the footsteps of Pablo Picasso to Antibes . The Avignon Festival also attracts visitors. Cineastes go to the International Film Festival of Cannes or Deauville to American Film Festival .

Sports: Those who love rafting can go into the Verdon Gorge . Since 1903, the Tour de France has thrilled the nation for three weeks in July. The Armada Rouen takes place every five years and attracts fans of tall ships .

Medical tourism: Spa vacationers use the opportunities for thalassotherapy .

Backpacking : There are hundreds of thousands of campsites, especially on the Mediterranean.

Houseboat trips are possible on the 240-kilometer-long Canal du Midi and on a further 8,000 kilometers of waterways; a motorboat license is not required.

Pilgrims : Lourdes on the Franco-Spanish border is one of the world's most popular pilgrimage sites. Pilgrims on the Way of St. James can choose between the Via Podiensis , the Via Turonensis and the Via Tolosana .

See also

literature

  • Alfred Pletsch, Hansjörg Dongus and Henrik Uterwedde: France. Geography, history, economics, politics. WBG , Darmstadt 2003, 2nd edition ISBN 3-534-11691-7 , pp. 268-278.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Press release on the website of the French Embassy in Berlin, accessed on August 22, 2015
  2. ↑ Statistics from the French statistical office INSEE , accessed on December 8, 2012
  3. ↑ france.fr  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 30, 2012@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.france.fr  
  4. ↑ Pletsch (2004), p. 268
  5. ↑ Pletsch (2003), p. 270
  6. ↑ Pletsch (2003), p. 272
  7. ↑ International tourism, number of arrivals. Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
  8. ↑ International tourism, receipts (current US $). Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
  9. ↑ 8.3 million visitors in 2010 according to INSEE , accessed on December 8, 2012
  10. ↑ World War I Tourism in France: Black Crosses for the Germans. spiegel.de, March 13, 2014, accessed on July 23, 2014