2024 was a year of particularly important events of historical significance for France, such as the 33rd Olympic Games, the 80th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings, and the reopening of Notre Dame after the devastating fire of 2019.
As expected, its visitor numbers skyrocketed last year, resulting in a record high inbound tourism receipts, which amounted to 71 billion euros, up 12% compared to 2023. According to data from the French Ministry of Tourism, the number of foreign tourists reached 100 million, up 2 million. compared to 2023, while there was a 7.3% increase in the number of overnight stays by international visitors.
This increase was mainly benefited by the Airbnb and Booking platforms, which managed 16.4% more reservations for accommodation in French destinations compared to 2023. Interestingly, camping attendance also showed an increase of 2.8%, as did reservations for holiday homes, which are managed independently by individuals (+4%). On the contrary, reservations directly at hotels recorded a very small drop of 0.5%. A similar trend is observed in reservations by French tourists, who traveled within their country and whose number of overnight stays recorded a small increase of 2.8%, an element that affected seasonal rentals.
Overall, seasonal (non-urban) destinations recorded an increase in traffic by 12.5% ??compared to 2023, which is also attributed to their collaboration with major booking platforms. A significant contribution to the increase in tourism receipts was the increase, between 5-15%, in tourist spending from Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, and Germany.
The strength of the US currency, in fact, is considered to have played a significant role in the increase in purchases by American tourists in France, which continues to be one of the most popular destinations for US citizens and internationally.
New companies and bankruptcies
Meanwhile, more than 1.1 million new businesses were registered in France’s commercial company registers last year, up 5.6% year-on-year and a record high, according to the country’s Statistics Office. The most significant increases were recorded in the transport/logistics sector, where the number of new business creations was up 25% (including home delivery of meals), and in accommodation/catering, where there was a 12.4% increase.
Similarly, there was a 12% increase in the creation of industrial units, while the real estate sector saw a 5% drop in the wake of the housing crisis. The simplification of relevant procedures is considered one of the main reasons for the increase in the number of registered businesses. However, this increasing trend in business creation does not provide a complete picture of entrepreneurship in the country.
According to a survey by the Center for Research, Studies, and Observation of Living Conditions, focused on micro-entrepreneurship, a significant percentage of modern micro-enterprises (89% of survey participants) have an annual turnover of less than 34,000 euros (the survey’s reference year was 2022), while entrepreneurial activity is not the exclusive occupation of micro-entrepreneurs, 56% of whom state that they combine entrepreneurship with other employment, even salaried employment (28%).
According to the same survey, the structures of micro-enterprises are so vulnerable that only one-third survive five years after their establishment. At the same time, the French economy has been hit by a record number of bankruptcies, with 66,000 companies in bankruptcy proceedings, according to the Central Bank of France, while 310,000 were declared bankrupt in 2024, a number that increased by 9% compared to 2023.
(*) Information comes from the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs in Paris.
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