France holds off Spain as world's tourist favourite

France maintained its position as the world's number one tourist destination in 2024 with 100 million visitors, despite strong competition from other countries such as Spain, according to a statement from the tourism ministry released on Tuesday.

With international travel rebounding to pre-pandemic levels, recording 1.4 billion people taking trips abroad, the UN reports, both France and Spain have registered record-breaking visitor numbers.

"France currently holds the top spot in this area, but we're experiencing intense competition, notably from Spain," said French Tourism Minister Nathalie Delattre in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro on Tuesday.

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France, which hosted the Olympic Games in July - September 2024, welcomed nearly 2 million additional visitors in 2024. Compared to 2023, this represents an increase of roughly 2 percent.

Although France received more tourists, they spent less than those who visited Spain, totaling 71 billion euros, which is equivalent to approximately $74 billion, while tourists in Spain spent 126 billion euros.

"We must strive to increase the average amount of time each visitor spends on our platform and encourage our visitors to stay longer," Delattre said.

Revenue from international tourists to France increased by a total of 12 percent on a yearly basis, primarily due to the influx of visitors from Belgian, English, German, Swiss and US citizens, according to a statement from the tourism ministry.

US tourist overnight stays increased by five percent, with the ministry referring to Americans as a vital client base boasting considerable purchasing power.

Although European tourism has seen a recovery from Asia, the number of Chinese tourists to France is still 60 percent below pre-pandemic levels.

There was a 30 percent decrease in the number of Japanese tourists visiting the country compared to the year 2019.

A good amount of snow in late 2024 had a positive effect on the end-of-year holidays, as enthusiasts of snow sports headed to the French ski resorts in large numbers.

"The outlook for the first quarter of 2030 is quite positive, as the number of visitors is increasing," the ministry statement added.