Growth of Tourism in France

Tourism ranks as one of France's leading industries. The country has a variety of landscapes and climates unmatched in Europe. These features, together with an abundance of historical and cultural sites, artistic and architectural treasures, recreational facilities, and the nation's famous foods and wines, have made France a favorite of tourists from North America and other parts of Europe. Increasing numbers of travelers from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East are visiting France. In 1991 foreign tourists spent some 9 billion dollars more in France than French travelers spent abroad.

The French travel widely within their own country as well. The introduction of paid vacations for industrial workers, beginning in the late 1930s, led to a boom in family tourism. Today most French workers receive four or five weeks of paid vacation annually, and such regions as Brittany and Languedoc profit from low-budget family tourism. Many wealthier city residents have second homes, either in places from which their families once migrated or in desirable vacation districts. Many of these homes are used for retirement as well as for holiday sites during the owners' working years.

For international travelers, as for many French people from throughout the country, Paris remains the greatest attraction. The capital's artistic and cultural attractions, its famous shops and restaurants, the color and animation of its many districts, and such world-famous symbols as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, Montmartre, and the Georges Pompidou Center make Paris one of the most visited places in the world (see Paris).

Next to Paris in popularity is the Mediterranean coast, especially the Provence-Cote d'Azur section, which includes part of the French Riviera. Sheltered by the Alps, the Riviera first became popular in the 1860s as a winter resort for wealthy visitors, mainly tourists from England. Its fame grew steadily, and today it is known especially as a summer resort area.

The mountainous areas of France, particularly the Rhone-Alpes region, have also had a dramatic rise in tourist income during recent years, largely because of increasing interest in winter sports. People once visited the mountains mainly in summer for health reasons, but these areas now benefit from almost a year-round season, and such resorts as Chamonix and Morzine are internationally famous.