[July 2026] What is the role played by tourism in France? What are the French people’s aspirations for their vacations, and how have their holiday plans changed over time? Finally, what role is played by accommodation in the success of their experience? Discover the insights provided by the experts at BPCE L’Observatoire in this new market research dedicated to tourism.
In France, the gross domestic product generated directly from tourism accounted for 3.8% of the country’s total GDP in 2023, or 108.7 billion euros. Despite significant growth in recent years, it has still not returned to its pre-COVID level of 3.9%.
It is, however, on a par with the European average though significantly trailing Croatia (at 11.3%), which holds the top spot in the European Union by a wide margin, ahead of Spain (5.7%) and Italy (5.0%). Accommodation appears to be the leading contributor to the economic activity generated by tourism, accounting for 44% of the total. Passenger transportation (17%) ranks second, ahead of restaurants and cafés (10%) and sports, recreational, and leisure activities (9%).
The part of the country’s total GDP in 2023 generated directly from tourism
This is the contribution represented by the accommodation sector
This is the contribution represented by the Passenger transportation sector
Economic activity generated by tourism stems primarily from tourist spending, which came to a total of 211 billion euros in 2023. Accommodation again ranks first in this category, at 72.5 billion euros (accounting for 34% of tourist spending). It is worth noting that accommodation is enjoying faster growth than other spending categories: +16% compared with 2019, versus +10% for the other categories.
More specifically, hotels account for 38% of tourist accommodation spending, just ahead of vacation homes (35%). As for tourists spending their vacations in accommodation in France, 59% are residents and 41% are non-residents.
Above all, the French are going on holiday to rest and recharge their batteries (92%), to get away from it all (89%), and enjoy time with their loved ones (80%). However, a number of differences emerge depending on the demographic:
92% of French people are going on holiday to rest and recharge their batteries.
The desire to be in nature appears to be important regardless of age. Younger people add a strong appetite for cultural and recreational activities, a sign of a more active and experiential form of tourism.
Among the places that attract French vacationers, visits to sites of cultural interest top the list (54%), closely followed by local markets (53%) – particularly among seniors – and then restaurants (51%), which offer a key opportunity for discovery and socializing. Interest in national parks and nature reserves ranks high (40%), followed by swimming pools (23%), which are particularly popular with young people and families with children.
Several factors have a negative influence on the choice of destination: unsurprisingly, price levels emerge as the primary obstacle (65% of French people, 70% among low-income households). But other factors also worry the French: the perception that the country is dangerous (54%) and the risk of overtourism (42%).
Health conditions (32%) and temperature (24%) round out their list of concerns. Those aged 25–34 stand out for their more frequent use of online reviews (22% vs. 15% for the French population as a whole).
When planning their trips, the French combine digital tools with word of mouth. Search engines are their preferred choice (62%), but advice from friends and family still plays a significant role (47%). Official websites (43%) and booking platforms (40%) round out the mix.
Financially, two thirds of French people plan ahead by setting money aside for their trips, and 14% say they need financing to make their vacations a reality. The need for financing is more common among people without financial assets or parents with at least one child.
In 2025, the French went on vacation an average of 1.7 times, but nearly one in four (23%) did not go at all. Most trips took place in France (70% versus 30% abroad, of which 20% were in Europe).
Residents of the Île-de-France region, however, traveled more (an average of 2.6 trips) and went abroad more often, as did residents of the Grand Est region in northeaster France and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) region in southeastern France.
Over the first four months of 2026, the geopolitical context clearly changed the picture regarding foreign travel:
During the months of July and August, the impact of the current geopolitical situation appears to be lessening, and overseas destinations are attracting more interest (+3 percentage points [pp] between 2025 and 2026). However, 60% of French people who report that the current situation is influencing their holiday plans intend to spend their vacations in France rather than abroad.
59% say they will choose a closer destination, and 48% will avoid a destination requiring a stopover in the Gulf countries. 45% say they will book later, 39% will be more selective about foreign destinations considered safe, and finally, 30% plan to avoid flying.
Nearly 1 in 2 French people plan to go to the seaside for their main vacation in 2026, a figure that reflects a significant decline over the previous year (-6 pp compared with 2025). Mountain destinations are becoming increasingly popular (21%, +5 pp vs. 2025), particularly among:
1 in 2 French people plan to go to the seaside for their main vacation in 2026.
A total of 61% of French people have traveled or plan to travel by car in 2026 (-3 pp vs. 2025), particularly older adults and parents with at least one child. Air travel remains the second most popular mode of transportation (28%, stable vs.2025), especially among 18- to 34-year-olds (35%, -4 pp vs.2025). Finally, train travel is up slightly (+3 pp vs.2025), particularly among the younger generations (18-34 years old).
When choosing their accommodation, the French do not limit themselves to price: they seek a pleasant, reassuring setting and place great importance on the neighborhood, the view, proximity to city-center amenities, and a calm and relaxing atmosphere.
The French prefer two main types of accommodation: hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and vacation rentals (35%), which are more popular among seniors, and vacation rentals (35%), which are more popular among 18- to 34-year-olds.
Next come campsites and mobile homes (16%) and, falling outside of commercial accommodations, 14% are expected to spend their vacations in a second home, with friends, or with family. Due to the impact on purchasing power from the surge in inflation since March, the French are adjusting their choices and turning more toward mid-range options (+5 pp between 2025 and 2026).
The importance of tourism to the French economy and the significant role of lodging in sector-related consumption encourage us to examine the extent to which it is possible to identify dynamics linked to this activity in real estate markets across different regions and their characteristics, especially in the second-home segment.
While the concept of a ‘tourist area’ is commonly used in broad territorial or sectoral analyses, the municipal level – chosen in this study as the focus of analysis – first requires an examination of the criteria by which a municipality can be classified as a tourist destination.
Various public sources provide widely differing definitions, for historical reasons and often to serve distinct objectives. A segmentation of municipalities based on the proportion of second homes in the total housing stock is used to assess the sensitivity of real estate markets to this type of property. The density of this type of housing in a given area correlates with the number of tourist beds per inhabitant.
3.7 million This is the number of second homes, representing 9.7% of all housing units in France.
Despite steady and accelerating growth in the stock of second homes over a relatively recent period (2016–2023), the structural breakdown between primary residences, second homes, occasional residences, and vacant housing remains fairly stable in France (currently 82.5%, 9.7%, and 7.7%, respectively, as of January 1, 2025).
The high degree of heterogeneity in France’s real estate markets makes it necessary to distinguish trends in the different markets for second homes based on the level of tourism dominance in each region. Based on the segmentation used in our study, we observe that in 2023, 4 out of 10 municipalities exhibited tourism-related characteristics, and that compared to 2016, the number of ‘non-tourism’ municipalities increased by 1.7 percentage points, at the expense of municipalities where tourism can be described as significant (-1 percentage point) and those with higher levels of tourism (-0.8 percentage points).
« Based on the segmentation used in our study, 4 out of 10 municipalities exhibited tourism characteristics in 2023 »
José Bardaji,
director of Research & Forecasting at Groupe BPCE
A mapping of municipalities based on their tourism profile and changes in their status between 2016 and 2023 sheds new light on the situation: in the space of seven years, 12% of the municipalities segmented using this approach changed their status, and only 5% saw an increase in the proportion of second homes.
Local real estate markets reflect the tourism profile of their municipalities. First, real estate activity – measured by the average annual rate of housing transactions (number of sales relative to the total housing stock) – appears relatively consistent across municipalities classified by tourism category. This rate stands at 2.2% for all municipalities, with a low of 1.7% for those that transitioned from ‘tourist’ status in 2016 to ‘highly tourist-oriented’ status in 2023.
Furthermore, real estate prices vary significantly across different types of municipalities: they are much higher in highly tourist-oriented municipalities. In 2023, average prices per square meter for apartments were 17% higher in highly tourist-oriented municipalities compared with non-tourist municipalities.
The difference is significantly greater for 4- or 5-room houses: a 97% increase for those located in a highly touristic municipality. Real estate prices are also much more dynamic in touristic municipalities. Between 2016 and 2023, at a time when prices rose by an average of 30% nationwide, the increase was twice as high for houses located in a highly touristic municipality.
