France’s Summer Tourist Numbers Surpassed Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2022
A total of 322 million nights were spent by tourists in France from April to September of 2022, which is 2.4 per cent more than in 2019 before COVID-19 hit the world and travel restrictions were introduced.
According to the National Institute for Statistics, out of the total number of nights spent, the majority of those were recorded by local tourists, with this number being up by 5.3 per cent compared to the previous year, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
On the other hand, the gradual return of international visitors was noticed only by the end of the season, which was 4.3 per cent over the whole period. The recovery in tourists was solid in campsites but slightly less in other accommodation spots, including hotels. The number of overnights surged in the top-of-the-range facilities.
“Tourist numbers have increased in most of the metropolitan regions. Only the Île-de-France and the Grand Est have not returned to their pre-sanitary crisis levels. The coastline was the main beneficiary of the recovery in visitor numbers, particularly the northern and Normandy coasts,” the press release reads.
France had a strong summer season this year, with a large number of tourists reaching the country, with those reaching the country more especially after the COVID-19 travel-related restrictions were dropped.
The number of tourists increased significantly in recent months, starting in August, while in pre-pandemic levels, the country attracted nearly 90 million international visitors, while data for 2022 is yet to be revealed and the outcome is looking strong.
“In the second quarter of 2022 in France, occupancy in collective tourist accommodation excluding campsites, expressed in the number of nights, was close to the level of the second quarter of 2019 but remained three per cent lower,” the statement of the Institute reads.
According to Eurostat, the European Office for statistics, out of a total of 28.1 million available beds in 597,000 accommodation spots in Europe, Italy and France represented more than one-third of all available beds, with an occupancy rate of 5.1 million bed places, respectively.
In comparison with the occupancy rates of 2020, when the EU was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of beds and the number of establishments stood at constant levels. However, compared with 2019 levels, the number of bed places in 2021 was down by two per cent (28.8 million), and the number of establishments available was slightly lower – three per cent below, reaching a total of 617,953 spots.
