After an already successful touristic year in 2023, France has even bigger ambitions for 2024. During the Destination France summit on January 11th, in the French town Chantilly, the French government has unveiled its visitor numbers for the past and coming year. Thanks to a handful of different events, amongst which the Paris Olympics are without a doubt the most hyped, international tourist numbers should rise above the 100 million benchmark.
Looking back on 2023, estimations by the French tourism development agency Atout France speak of around 100 million international visitors during the last twelve months. In 2022, that number halted at 93 million according to the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), which would mean that 2023 was a touristic success. To ensure its position as a leader in the tourism industry, the French government has allocated a budget of 1.9 billion euros over a three year period (2022-2024) as a part of the Destination France program.
In 2024, the government hopes the already astonishing 100 million benchmark of 2023 will be surpassed, with a little help from several events. The most important one is probably the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, which will be held in France for the first time in 100 years. The event should attract 16 million visitors and no less than 4 billion spectators should tune in from the comfort of their living rooms, meaning the sports event should be able to boost the French economy and especially the tourism industry.
But there’s more to 2024 than the Olympics alone. On June 6th, France will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy. Multiple heads of state will be present during the memorial and festivities are planned to commemorate the historic date. Then, in October, the country will host the Sommet de la Francophonie in Villers-Cotterêts, where heads of state from French-speaking countries all over the world meet and discuss recent events.
The coming year also marks the 150th anniversary of the first impressionist exhibition in Paris. From March 26th until July 14th, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris will therefore be hosting a special exhibition featuring multiple masterpieces from the artistic movement. Lastly, with the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral scheduled for December and, knowing that before the fire the monument welcomed 13 million visitors per year, it wouldn’t be a surprise if tourist numbers would increase at the end of the year.
