According to figures from the World Tourism Organisation, 84.7 million tourists visited France in 2014, meaning it retains its positions as the world’s favourite tourism destination. However, with the number of visitors the same as in 2013, key players in the French tourist industry are unhappy about the relatively slow growth in the sector compared to other countries.
L’Echo Touristique, a French tourist industry magazine, said the figures indicated the lowest period of growth since 2009, when the tourism industry around the world struggled following the 2008 financial crisis.
In the ten years from 2005 to 2014, growth in the French tourism sector is the lowest among all the top ten tourist destinations in the world at 13%, compared to 109% for Thailand, 67% for Turkey, 53% for Germany and 32% for Italy.
French foreign minister Laurent Fabius last year announced a series of measures designed to give a boost to the French tourism industry.
