With the end of France’s traditional summer season last week, it appears that France’s tourism business has not only recovered its pre-pandemic levels but topped them. In 2019, France was the world’s most-visited destination.
Reports from a number of tourism industry sources tell the story: Gites de France, which specializes in cottage and apartment rentals reported 86% occupancy in August, up 6% over 2019. Hotel night bookings were up by 2%.
France’s rail operator, SNCF, carried 23 million passengers over July and August, not counting another 5 million on international services. Altogether, 10% above 2019, and leisure parks such as Disneyland and Park Asterix saw increases, too.
Also seeing increases, in almost every sector, were prices, some up a bit and some up dramatically with the current inflation, but that appears not to have curbed demand.
