Le Grand Tour
According to the World Tourism Organization, France is the world’s leading tourism destination hands down. In 2022, the year when international travel cranked up again after the pandemic, 48.4 million visitors came to the country—which will come as no surprise to anyone who has waited in line to climb the Eiffel Tower.
To put this in context, the U.S. was ranked sixth, with 22.1 million visitors. Moreover, tourism accounts for approximately eight percent of France’s annual GDP. In the U.S. the figure is closer to three percent. This is why the French government regards tourism as crucial to stimulating the economy post-pandemic while also helping the country hit its climate targets.
Destination France, a $2 billion investment program, was conceived as a comprehensive road map to develop and transform the tourism sector over the next 10 years. The aim essentially is to lure tourists away from the crowded cobbles of Emily in Paris and encourage them to spend more time exploring other parts of France—discovering independent hotels and restaurants and supporting food growers and other businesses. Funds have also been unlocked to renovate independent hospitality venues in the centers of several medium-sized cities in a bid to revive the conference and exhibitions sector. Naturally, food and drink feature prominently in Destination France’s sustainable tourism drive.
For example, Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin (above), a $272 million epicurean wonderland, has opened in Dijon, capital of the Burgundy region, inspired by UNESCO’s pronouncement that the “gastronomic meal of the French” constituted an element of the world’s intangible heritage. The 16-acre attraction is now being marketed alongside the 300-mile road trip between Dijon and Marseille in Southern France, rebranded as the Vallée de la Gastronomie.
Another Destination France poster child is Bordeaux. Not only is the region welcoming record numbers of oenophiles, but Bordeaux was also named a European Capital of Smart Tourism for its impressive integration of urban wastelands into a city for the future. Notably, the Bassins à Flot docks has emerged as a hotbed of culture and cuisine, boasting the Cité du Vin museum and Bassins des Lumières, a submarine base that has been upcycled into the world’s largest digital arts center.