Abstract
Why buy this report
- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive
environment
Product coverage
Airline capacity and utilisation; Arrivals by country of origin; Arrivals by
mode of transport; Arrivals by purpose of visit; Car rental services by
sector; Demand factors; Departures by destination; Departures by mode of
transport; Departures by purpose of visit; Domestic tourism by destination;
Domestic tourism by mode of transport; Tourism receipts and expenditure;
Tourist attractions; Transportation; Travel accommodation; Travel retail
services
Executive summary
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A good performance for incoming tourism
In 2005, France remained the most visited country in the world with over 77
million incoming tourists, which represents an increase of almost 3% on 2004.
French tourism benefited from the global economic recovery, notably in
countries such as the US and Japan, the improving geopolitical environment,
and also from France' s continuing popularity with European tourists.
More holidays thanks to more short breaks
With 30 paid holidays on average and nine additional days off, a result of the
implementation of the 35 hour- working week since 2002, the French are among
the world champions of holidays. They are therefore travelling more and taking
several short breaks throughout the year.
Although still preferring to holiday in France, French nationals are also
increasingly travelling abroad. Despite higher fuel prices that made
travelling more expensive, latent terror threats, the aviary flu epidemic,
hurricanes, and a series of tragic plane crashes, outbound departures rose by
almost 3% in 2005 a better performance than the 2% growth in the number of
domestic trips.
Internet: popular with French holiday-makers
The increase in internet penetration in French households, which continued in
2005, meant that more people now have access to the numerous travel deals
available online, which contributed to raising the number of trips abroad.
Online agencies positioned themselves as serious competitors for traditional
travel retailers benefiting also from the success in the country of dynamic
packaging, a tool that gives users the chance to put together a customised
package holiday.
but less so with traditional travel agencies
Travel retail outlets nevertheless recorded positive growth in 2005, however,
only travel agencies in the province regions showed positive growth while
Ile-de-France outlets recorded a negative trend. In fact, online players'
growth penalised traditional outlets especially in the Parisian region where
the internet penetration is highest and people are more likely to make
purchases online.
Other negative factors for travel agencies include the fact that airline
companies abolished travel agency fees on their flights in early 2005, and
that commissions paid by GDS tended to decrease as French travellers are
increasingly buying cheap last minute deals.
Travel accommodation on the way to recovery
Travel accommodation continues its moderate growth in 2005 after a strong
recovery in 2003/4, thanks to the return of high-spending North American and
Japanese tourists who benefited from a better shape of their economies and
from a relatively quieter geopolitical environment. However, travel
accommodation still suffers from the choice of many domestic travellers to
stay with family and friends due to the persisting negative economic climate
in France.
Tourist attractions: growth in spite of mature market in France
Sales to tourist attractions in France remained healthy in 2005 with an
increase of almost 4% in current value terms, thanks to increased tourist
arrivals and to the diversity of the offer, ranging from theme/amusement
parks, such as Disneyland Paris, to world-class museums, such as Le Musée du
Louvre and Le Musée d' Orsay. This good performance was also driven by the
policy adopted by several players (including the Louvre and the Centre
Pompidou), to attract a younger public through exhibitions specifically
targeted to them.
Concentration goes on
The tourism industry in France is characterised by significant concentration,
which became increasingly visible in the latter part of the review period.
Increased globalisation and the need to improve profit margins have led
companies in the tourism industry to consolidate.
Consolidation continued in 2005 through the acquisition of Havas Voyages by
Nouvelles Frontières, a major player in tour operating in France and a
subsidiary of TUI.
Good prospects for the tourism industry in France
French tourism is expected to face a number of important challenges over the
coming years. While France is today the world' s leading destination in terms
of visitor numbers, it ranks only third in terms of incoming receipts and the
positive margin in the balance of tourist payments is constantly reducing.
Moreover, trips in the country are becoming shorter, and competition from
rising tourist destinations such as Croatia, Tunisia, and Egypt is
intensifying.
France' s performance in the coming years will depend on its capacity to
attract a new clientele whilst retaining the existing one, notably taking more
advantage of the numerous transit tourists crossing its territory while
heading to Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Considering how crucial the tourism
industry is to France' s economy, the actions undertaken by the government to
support and promote this industry over the coming years will be key in
determining its performance over the forecast period.
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