France has once again confirmed its position as the world’s leading tourist destination in 2025, welcoming a record 102 million international visitors, according to Atout France, the country’s national tourism development agency.
This figure is two million higher than in 2024, when arrivals reached around 100 million, largely due to the momentum generated by the Olympics. France has further consolidated its lead in 2025, with summer remaining the peak season.
💡 𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗭-𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗦 ? | En 2025, la France confirme sa place de première destination mondiale, avec une dynamique touristique solide et des performances en progression !
— Atout France (@atout_france) February 20, 2026
Découvrez les grandes tendances du Bilan 2025 👉 https://t.co/xzHpO9Mbne pic.twitter.com/cWmm5V1jAA
Europe leads the way
European visitors accounted for the largest share of arrivals. Around a third of tourists came from neighbouring countries, with particularly strong numbers from Belgium and Germany (around 15 million in total), 13 million from the United Kingdom and nine million from Switzerland. In total, international visitors generated 743 million overnight stays.
Outside Europe, North America remains a crucial market, with the United States and Canada accounting for the majority of long-haul arrivals. While still recovering more slowly from the pandemic, Asian tourism is gradually rebounding, with Japan making a particularly notable comeback.
Domestic tourism remains strong
France is not only popular with foreign visitors. It remains the preferred destination for its own residents. The number of nights spent in commercial accommodation by French travellers increased by 3% in 2025, driven by a 6.6% rise in holiday rentals and a 4% increase in open-air camping.
The southern regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Nouvelle-Aquitaine accounted for more than half of all domestic overnight stays.
Revenue rises sharply
In 2025, international tourism receipts reached €77.5 billion, marking a 9% increase compared to 2024 and a 37% increase compared to 2019.
Serge Papin, the minister responsible for small and medium-sized enterprises, craft trades, and tourism, described the sector as “a winning bet”.
“Tourism is a competitive sector like any other part of the economy, and one in which we have to fight. And we are going to fight. We are a great tourism nation, and this must benefit everyone, in all regions,” he said, adding that France should be proud of a position “envied by many”.
Papin added that industry leaders should not rest on their laurels and must strive to generate €100 billion in international tourism revenue by 2030. The country also aims to become a leading sustainable destination by that date.
France is AGAIN the MOST VISITED country in the world with 102 million international tourists in 2025, announces Serge Papin, Minister of Tourism.
— Earth (@earthcurated) February 19, 2026
Spain 🇪🇸 (97 million) and the United States 🇺🇸 complete the podium. Have you visited any of the top 3 ? pic.twitter.com/EcS2hiRDgb
Diversification and sustainability
To achieve this, Papin said that France must move beyond its traditional tourist destinations and offer more variety. He cited ‘memorial tourism, wine tourism and agritourism’ as examples, while calling for stronger ‘local tourism rooted in the regions, connected to producers, artisans and our roots’.
Describing France as ‘full of tourist gems’, Papin added that ‘every corner of the country, even the least known, is Instagram-worthy’, the new standard in today’s travel economy.
The strategy is twofold: spread visitors more evenly across the country and accelerate the shift towards sustainable tourism. This involves tighter visitor management, water conservation, biodiversity protection, and closer monitoring of the sector’s carbon footprint.
After all, France’s appeal extends far beyond Paris. Alongside iconic attractions such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre and the Sacré-Cœur, France offers visitors vineyards and hiking trails, ski resorts and beaches, haute cuisine and distinct regional identities. Every city, and arguably every village, has its own character.
Competition and overtourism pressures
Spain remains France’s closest rival in the tourism sector, welcoming 96.8 million visitors in 2025. While France attracts more tourists overall, visitors to Spain stay longer, averaging seven days – two more than in France – which partly explains Spain’s tourism revenue of approximately €135 billion, compared with France’s €77.5 billion. Overnight stays in France nevertheless rose by 7.5% compared with 2024.
Richard Vainopoulos, chairman of the Tourcom tourism network, attributes Spain’s stronger revenue performance partly to its hospitality infrastructure. He argues that Spain offers a larger supply of mid-range hotels and holiday clubs, while France faces shortages outside Paris and the Côte d’Azur.
The question now is whether France can balance record numbers with quality of life. Overtourism has already sparked tensions in Spain, and similar concerns are emerging in France. Last year, residents of Montmartre protested against what they described as the ‘Disneyfication’ of the historic district.
