FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
An estimated 89 million travelers visited France in 2017—nearly an 8% increase over 2018, remaining the world’s #1 tourist destination.
The above figure—to be confirmed this June, is partly fueled by a record year for Paris with an increase of both domestic and foreign visitors, which was announced by the Paris Tourist Office on Friday, March 23, 2018.
Paris, March 23, 2018—“For the first time ever, Greater Paris exceeded 23 million hotel arrivals (23.6 million - an increase of 11% on 2016 and 5% on 2014). The total number of visitors to Greater Paris*, all accommodation combined, exceeded a record 40 million tourists, according to our estimates. Foreign markets and business tourism are the main driving forces behind these healthy results.
The destination’s above global average growth (6.2% according to the WTO) has mainly been boosted by foreign visitors with a 15% increase in arrivals to 12 million and an 8% spike in French visitors to 11.5 million. This explains the destination’s rapid recovery after a downward trend in 2016 - something not seen for more than a decade.
Business tourism is a factor in this increase: accounting for 50.8% of the total number of overnight stays, business nights increased by 8.2%. Reflecting the economic upswing, the sector made a significant contribution, as in 2016, to visitor numbers. Leisure customers began to recover well in the second half of the year.”
For details on the breakdown of the number of foreign visitors see full release below.
Also note that Paris was voted the world’s #1 destination by TripAdvisor in its 2018 Travelers Choice Awards
Greater Paris: Paris and close environs/suburbs
