More Americans are Traveling to France: Here Are The Numbers

The numbers are in from the French Ministry of Tourism for 2024, with numbers hitting an all-time high in France.

In 2024, France welcomed 100,000,000 foreign tourists - a new record for what continues to be the most popular tourist destination in the world.

This surge in tourism is led by travelers from Northern Europe and the United States with the French Ministry of Tourism calling 2024 a "record year".

What is behind this increase in tourism?

There are multiple factors at play, the most significant being the global return to travel after the Covid-19 pandemic.

France has always been a tour de force when it comes to popularity amongst travelers and 2024 was no exception.

With the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics hosted in Paris, the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, and the long-awaited re-opening of Notre Dame, a number of heavily marketed events drew tourists in.

According to the Ministry, increases were seen across urban, coastal, rural, and mountain locations, suggesting an overall lift seen across the country.

In 2024, a study was conducted by Ifop for France's National Center of Cinematography around whether or not cinematography drove interest. According to their study, it did. They cited that 1 in 10 tourists among six nationalities said seeing a movie or TV show was their main reason for visiting France. For half of those travelers, the show was either Netflix's Emily in Paris or Lupin.

In fact, Étretat, a small coastal town in Normandy saw a huge increase in tourism after being shown in an episode of Lupin.

The six nationalities in this study were American, British, Belgian, Spanish, German, and Chinese.

Americans are traveling to France

The US and France have long had a strong relationship, with Americans being a reliable, leading force when it comes to tourism and expenditure.

Alongside tourists from Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland, travelers from the United States generate the most tourist-related revenue, contributing to another record for France: international revenue.

While other groups of people had sharper spikes in tourism to France in 2024, travelers from the US continue to be a stable, and increasing, group of visitors for the country.

The US data

According to the French Ministry of Tourism, in 2024 Americans showed a:

• 15% increase in international air arrivals
• 5% increase in overnight stays
• Notable increase in tourism spending

These increases contributed to France's overall milestone of 100,000,000 foreign travelers.

The global numbers in 2024

While more Americans are traveling to France, other groups had sharper spikes in tourism compared to 2023.

• International revenue was up 12%, clocking in at €71 billion - another new record for France.
• Overnight stays (by international tourists) were up 7.3% overall
• Asian countries showed a steep increase in overnight stays, contributing largely to the above number. Chinese tourists were up 40% and Japanese 20%.
• 5.5% increase in ski resort occupancy.
• There's a positive outlook for travelers from Mexico, India, South Korea, and Canada, though Canada is down.
• International visitors from Australia to France are on the rise.
• France is the leading destination for neighboring Belgians.

Will 2025 be another record-breaking year?

It's possible - the Ministry is forecasting a positive first quarter. So far, international air arrivals are up 10% from Q1 in 2024, an encouraging outlook for another successful year.

Could the introduction of ETIAS affect tourism numbers?

It will be interesting to see the overall impact of ETIAS on the tourism sector for France and the other countries in the Schengen zone.

There has been a lot of buzz around ETIAS, like when it's expected to launch and how it will change travel for millions of people.

ETIAS, short for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System is a new online authorization process that travelers heading to France, Spain, and other popular European destinations will need to apply for before they travel.

It hasn't launched yet and is currently predicted to start in Autumn 2025.

ETIAS isn't the only new European travel requirement, the UK recently launched its own pre-travel authorization called ETA. Now, travelers of several nationalities will need to get ETA approval before visiting the United Kingdom - including US citizens.