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France

See the latest market data for France – including traveller visits and spend, length of stay, behaviours and preferences.

France

Travellers from France made 45.7 million outbound visits in 2022, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$41.3 billion.

In 2022, the UK welcomed 2.8 million visits from France. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was a record £1.6 billion, with an average spend of £557 per person.

Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.

Visitor characteristics

  • Most trips are by those aged 25 to 44, followed by the cohort of 45 to 54.
  • Almost three-in-five holiday visitors from France (excluding British nationals) are making a repeat trip to Britain (within ten years).
  • 33% of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) visitors from France are British nationals.
  • 98% of departing visitors (excluding British nationals) are ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend a visit to Britain.

Explore the inbound data in full

Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. It includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. These data are based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Perceptions of Britain in the French market

  • The French rate the UK highly for culture in general, contemporary culture, sports, vibrant cities, historic buildings, and cultural heritage – but less for welcome and scenic natural beauty. The UK was rated 21st and 35th out of sixty nations respectively on these two attributes in 2023 (both improved year-on-year).
  • Music and museums are the cultural products or services most strongly associated with the UK among the French (2022).
  • Australia, Italy and the US are the destinations most likely to be seen as the ‘best place’ for delivering on factors that the French most ‘want’ from a destination.
  • Areas of strength for Britain include ‘ease of getting around’, ‘good shopping’, ‘being somewhere to see famous sites’, ‘lots of history’ and ‘watching sporting events’. Very few consider Britain as the best place for ‘food and drink’.
  • Activities that appeal to potential French visitors include ‘riding the scenic ‘Hogwarts Express’ (Harry Potter train) through the Scottish Highlands’, ‘taking a canal boat tour through the waterways of England’, ‘spotting wildlife in the Scottish Highlands’, ‘going on a food tour of one of London’s best foodie markets’ and ‘visiting Windsor Castle’.

Global context

Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.

Measure

2022

International tourism expenditure (US$bn)

41.3

Global rank for international tourism expenditure

5

Number of outbound visits (m)

45.7

Most visited destination

Spain

Key demographic and economic data

Measure

2022

Population (m)

67.9

GDP per capita PPP (US$)

54,482

Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)

1.0

Annual GDP growth (%)

2.5

Caring for visitors

  • The French are keen to have information provided in their own language when in Britain.
  • They prefer to stay in mid-range accommodation including bed and breakfasts, with en suite facilities. Country house hotels are popular in France, and a good benchmark for the value-for-money levels expected.
  • Youth travellers prefer to opt for hostels or university accommodation, as they tend to be more price-sensitive.
  • Expectation levels for standards and services are high and any issues should be resolved promptly.

The leisure and travel trade

  • The trade structure is quite complex and fragmented, composed of tour operators and travel agencies (online and offline), with associations and social clubs playing an important role too.
  • November to December and May to September are the main planning periods.
  • Tour operators are mainly based in Paris.

Access to Britain from France

The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.

Measure

2023

Weekly aircraft departures 

816

Weekly seat capacity

137,268

Airports with direct routes in France

34

Airports with direct routes in Britain

22

Eurostar trains per day from Paris

16

Weekly ferry crossings

452

Weekly Eurotunnel Shuttles

357

  • Slightly more visitors reach Britain from France by plane than through the Channel Tunnel.
  • Airline seat capacity is highly seasonal, but is largely shaped by demand for travel to France by holidaying Britons.
  • Routes with the highest capacity are those operating from Paris to London.
  • Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity on non-stop flights from France to the UK has recovered to 95% of 2019 levels in 2023.
  • French visitors flying home from Britain pay £13 in Air Passenger Duty.

Further resources

PDF

France Market Snapshot

France Market Snapshot

Download (2.7 MB)
PDF

France Market Profile

Learn more about doing business with France, plus its event agencies and media.

Download (5.23 MB)
PDF

France Aviation Profile

France Aviation Profile

Download (1.16 MB)
PDF

France COVID-19 Travel Sentiment

France COVID-19 Travel Sentiment

Download (478.77 KB)

Where visitors from France to the UK reside in their own country.xlsx

Where visitors from France to the UK reside in their own country

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PDF

Perceived barriers to exploring Britain beyond London for the French

Perceived barriers to exploring Britain beyond London for the French

Download (901.74 KB)
PDF

The role of culture and heritage for French visitors

The role of culture and heritage for French visitors

Download (2.37 MB)

How we source this information

We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of these data comes from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.

Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how this data is collected and analysed.

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