F3 Atout France, National Tourism Operator
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ATOUT FRANCE France Tourism Development Agency CONTENTS FILE 1 TOURISM IN FRANCE More than 90 million international visitors in 2018 FILE 2 NATIONAL TOURISM STRATEGY Objective: to host 100 million visitors in 2020 FILE 3 ATOUT FRANCE, NATIONAL TOURISM OPERATOR Missions, organization and operation FILE 4 FRANCE.FR: THE REFERENCE MEDIA FOR OUR DESTINATIONS FILE 5 IDENTIFYING DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL Short-term and long-term analysis Sharing best practices FILE 6 FRANCE TOURISME INGENIERIE: INVESTEMENT AND DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT Supporting the development of destinations and facilitating project buildings Investment and air connectivity Exporting tourism expertise abroad FILE 7 RAISING THE PROFILE OF GLOBAL FRENCH DESTINATION BRANDS AND SECTORS Communication and event campaigns Press and e-influencer actions Trade fairs / Actions with international professionals FILE 8 PROMOTING OFFER UPGRADE AND ENSURING QUALITY Rating of accommodation and registration of travel operators The "Palace" Distinction FILE 9 CHAIRMAN OF THE BoD AND CEO F1 2 TOURISM IN FRANCE GLOBAL TOURISM Global tourism is booming and represents a major part of the global economy. Indeed, according to the latest World Tourism Organisation Barometer, tourist arrivals increased by 6% in 2018, reaching a total of 1.4 billion. "International travel continues to grow strongly, confirming the key role of tourism as a driving force for economic development. As the world's third largest export sector, tourism is essential for job creation and the prosperity of communities around the world." Zurab Pololikashvili, WTO Secretary General TOURISM IN FRANCE The importance of tourism in the French economy TOP 10 The tourism industry, which has recorded sustained growth for several years, DESTINATIONS is the largest economic sector in France. IN TERMS OF NUMBER OF It represents 7.1% of GDP, which is a turnover of approximately 167.8 billion TOURISTS HOSTED1 euros, generated by more than 303,100 companies1 1- France Tourism is the sector that generates the largest number of jobs in France: 2- Spain about 2 million direct and related jobs.2 3- USA 4- China Significant domestic tourism 5- Italy 6- Mexico France has one of the largest domestic tourism sectors, ensuring stability 7- Turkey within this sector. In 2016, French people made 214 million journeys, 8- Germany 3 including 187.9 million to mainland France, about 87.8%. 9- United Kingdom The role of French tourism in the world 10- Thailand France is the number one destination in terms of volume, with more than 90 million international tourist arrivals recorded in 2018 (overseas territories included), including 50 million for long stays of four nights or more4. In addition to these tourist inflows, there are more than 120 million short international trips every year. 1For the year 2016. Key tourism figures, 2017 edition 2For the year 2016. Tourism snapshot, 2017 edition 3Tourist trips by French people, 2017 44 pages, n°84, of the DGE, 2018 France is the third destination in terms of revenue TOP 5 with 56.2 billion euros5 spent in France in 2018 (+6% increase compared to 2017). INTERNATIONAL CLIENTELES VISITING Globally, French tourism represents 6.7% of the market. FRANCE ** 1- United Kingdom 2- Germany 2018 arrivals in France 3- Belgium & Luxembourg 4- Switzerland (in percent) 5- Spain 3.2 1.5 Europe 6.8 North and South America 10.1 Asia-Oceania Africa 78.4 Near and Middle East 5 Banque de France * For the year 2018. Key tourism figures, DGE 2019 edition F2 NATIONAL TOURISM STRATEGY itre 2 Every 6 months, led by the Prime Minister, the Inter-ministerial Council Meeting on Tourism brings together the relevant ministers, elected officials and industry professionals around a common project and objective: to ensure the success of tourism throughout French territories. Between each meeting, a Tourism Steering Committee, chaired by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, mobilises the government team around the goals and objectives defined. As the leading destination in terms of visitor numbers, France must constantly adapt to the new global situation (multiplication of new competing destinations, emergence of a strong Asian middle class, new digital practices) and bring its potential to fruition. The government wishes to host the growing proportion of international tourists who stay longer during their stay in order to generate more economic revenue. To contribute to this, it has commissioned Atout France to act in two key areas: investment and promotion of destinations Promoting investment throughout the regions Tourism investment is an important means to strengthen the appeal of destinations and sectors and represents a powerful tool for business competitiveness. Investing in the development of the tourism industry is therefore a requirement for the internationalisation of French tourism and for the distribution of visitor flows throughout the regions. With this in mind, the Government has reaffirmed its commitment to support French destinations in their development strategy and in setting up their investment projects with the support of Caisse des Dépôts (€500 million over 5 years), BPI (€200 million) and the future Agence nationale des territoires (National Agency of the Regions). To do this, it has set up the "France Tourisme Ingénierie" (France Tourism Engineering) scheme led by Atout France, which is responsible for achieving this goal and bringing annual tourism investment to more than 15 billion euros, an increase of more than 20% on the current rate. Promoting the diversity of French destinations Global brands and Destination contracts To promote the diversity of its tourism offer and to better distribute the flow of visitors across the country, France has built its promotional strategy around 15 global French destination brands (Bordeaux, Mont-Blanc, the Champagne region, Normandy, Provence, etc.). The international reputation of each location makes them true "headliners", capable of enhancing the value of the wider territory to which they belong. The Government also encourages the emergence of new tourist destinations by relying on the impact and structural capacity of Destination Contracts. THE 15 GLOBAL FRENCH DESTINATION BRANDS Mont Blanc & the Brittany Occitane - South of Alps Champagne France Alsace & Lorraine Corsica Paris Biarritz & the Basque French Riviera (Côte Provence Country d’Azur) Loire Valley Bordeaux Lyon Burgundy Normandy Diversifying holiday experiences During the 2nd Tourism Steering Committee Meeting, the government chose to consolidate certain key tourism sectors (e.g. business tourism, cultural tourism, ecotourism, etc.) in order to strengthen the appeal and the quality of the existing offers. In addition, Atout France has identified promising sectors in terms of image and development potential (e.g. wine tourism, coastline and cruises, well-being, golf, etc.) enabling French and international tourists to discover French destinations around original experiences. A specific action plan is dedicated to cuisine. SECTORS - Professionnal meetings Cuisine and events, - City, Goût de France/Good France celebrates French - Coastline and cruises, cuisine around the world. At the request of the - Nature, President of the Republic, this event will be - Overseas, - Wine tourism, extended with the dinners on 21 March on all 5 - Culture, continents (152 countries and 3,500 restaurants in - Spirituality, 2017) and a new event, the Paris Food Forum, - Mémoire, planned for June 2020. - Well-being, - Golf. Ensuring the quality of the tourism offer Ensuring the quality of the tourism offer is essential for strengthening France's appeal as a destination. To do this, in April 2016, and then in July 2019, the French Government approved the new rating requirements proposed by Atout France to promote a more upmarket French accomodation sector. Other national initiatives have also been implemented, such as the Qualité Tourisme (Tourism Quality), Tourisme & handicap (Tourism & Disability) and Destinations pour Tous (Destinations for all) labels. Promoting high-quality hosting The Government aims to improve the quality of visitor hosting, from the point of preparing a trip to France, with the implementation of an accelerated visa policy in many markets. This wish to improve the customer experience also extends to improving flight connections and facilitating direct flights to the Paris CDG hub and other regional airports. It is also reflected in reduced waiting times at airport border control, with considerably increased resources. F3 ATOUT FRANCE, NATIONAL TOURISM OPERATOR t The Inter-ministerial Council Meeting on Tourism of January 2018 reaffirmed the Government's determination to make KEY FIGURES tourism a priority sector for France and consolidated Atout FOR THE ACTIONS CARRIED France in its role of supporting investment and promoting OUT IN 2018 destinations, in the service of global brands. 504 communication campaigns, of which 65% were digital campaigns The goals of Atout France Atout France, the national operator in the field of tourism, 1,500 bloggers and journalists contributes to strengthening the appeal of France as a welcomed to France destination and the competitiveness of its companies, sectors and destinations through various additional actions: 240 press events and - promoting France and its destinations 945 professional events organised internationally in order to increase visitor numbers, internationally - championing global French destination brands as a point of entry into France's regions, to