Tourism Marketing in France
With a little over 74 million foreign visitors last year, France continues to claim the title of No. 1 tourism destination in the world according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The economic crisis caused a 6 percent decrease from 2008 and business travel was down 10 percent. But leisure travel remained strong. In 2009, 3.2 million Americans visited the country. French tourism officials are optimistic that American tourists will increase by 4 percent to 5 percent in 2010.
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French Tourist Industry Challenges
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While France remains in the lead, other countries including Spain and Italy are challenging its supremacy. Morocco and Tunisia are also becoming popular destinations. In addition, a 2007 survey showed that only 20 percent of international tourists visiting France were satisfied with the hospitality. The French Secretary of State for Commerce, Artisanal Industry, Small and Mid-Sized Business and Tourism identified three challenges: the deterioration in hospitality amid increasing international competition, the imbalance in development among regions and the slowdown in new tourism products. In response, the French government announced its new policy, "Destination France 2020," to bolster the tourism sector.
The French Tourism Development Agency
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In 2009, the French secretary of Tourism announced the merger of Maison de la France, the French promotional tourism office and ODIT France, the tourism investment agency. An association of public and private interests, Atout France is now the sole national tourism development agency. It is responsible for tourism engineering, economic observation and promotion as well as international and educational activities. At the same time, French legislators approved a bill designed to spur the development and modernization of tourism services.
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A Site for Visitors and Professionals
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Atout France's website has information about destinations, events, practical details and many tools for visitors to organize their trip to France. The agency released its FranceGuide 2010, a 60-page magazine for sophisticated travelers seeking new experiences. Besides a print run of 500,000 copies, the magazine is available online. In addition, the site also targets travel professionals, for example, offering an online training platform for them to learn more about specific regions such as Languedoc-Roussillon.
Perspectives for American Travel to France
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Atout France online polls of American traveler intentions for 2010 show "that there will be a significant rise in wine tourism and river cruises along with a stable number of U.S. visitors who will choose heritage and culture as their French travel experience."
Other Tourism Marketing Resources
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Interface Tourism is a leading French PR and marketing group specializing in tourism for Southern Europe, Russia and Arabia. It is a member of GTI Tourism, a worldwide network of tourism marketers that offers consulting, trade development and consumer promotion. In addition, several French universities offer programs and research on tourism. The University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne houses the Institute for Research and Advanced Studies in Tourism (IREST), the oldest place of higher education in tourism in France. The French Institute of Tourism was formed in 2009 to bring together four regional tourism research and business entities (pôles d'excellence).
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- Photo Credit tour Eiffel - Eiffel tower image by AlcelVision from Fotolia.com
