Tourists in France spent €44.3 billion in 2017 an annual increase of 6.4% – 50% higher than the world average growth of 4.3%, according to major new research released today by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Overall, the total contribution of Travel & Tourism to the French economy in 2017 was €204.3 billion, once all the direct, indirect and induced benefits were taken into account. This means that 8.9% of the entire French economy is dependent in some way on Travel & Tourism.

Other highlights of the report released today show:

Travel & Tourism supported 2.8 million jobs in 2017 (10% of total French employment)
By 2028 over 3.3 million jobs in France are forecast to be dependent on Travel & Tourism
France is the 8th largest travel economy in the world

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC, said “Travel & Tourism creates jobs, drives economic growth and helps build better societies. This is particularly the case in France, which has the most international visitors of any country in the world and which ranks as the 8th largest tourism economy.

“The growth in visitor spending and the commitment to long-term job creation reflects positively on France’s public and private sectors working together under the leadership of the Government to create a model of recovery and resilience.

“Globally, 2017 was one of the strongest years of GDP growth in a decade. Our sector now supports one in ten jobs on the planet and contributes 10% of global GDP. Over the past ten years, one in five of all jobs created across the world has been in the sector and, with the right support from Governments, nearly 100 million new jobs could be created over the decade ahead.”