France is world's number one destination

82 million foreign tourists
France continues to be the world's number one tourist destination, with 82 million foreign tourists in 2007, keeping ahead of Spain which had 60 million. An increasing number of foreign tourists have been coming to France since 2000 and the latest available figure is up nearly 3% of that of 2006. However, revenue from tourism has fallen, from 7.3% to 6.3% in GDP in the last ten years. The United States and Spain both receive more revenue from tourism.

Three quarters of tourists coming to France are European. The British come top, ahead of the Germans. There have also been significantly more visitors from Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Eastern Europe. The number of Chinese tourists rose sharply to nearly 600,000 during that year. However there has been a sharp fall during 2008 due to the political fallout over the Olympic Games, with demonstrations when the Olympic torch was carried through Paris, and the recent meeting between the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Dali Lama.

To help boost tourism the French tourist industry are starting a campaign, enticing people to come to France for their holidays. The publicity campaign includes a 2 million euro makeover for the tourist industry, including a new logo. Initially targeting Russia, Brazil and China, the aims are to both increase the number of visits, plus the amount spent by each visitor.