France
France
Travellers from France made 51.6 million outbound visits in 2023, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$49.0 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 3.2 million visits from France. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was a record £1.6 billion, with an average spend of £515 per visit.
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
- 45% of all visits to the UK from France are made by those aged 25 to 44.
- Almost three-in-five holiday visitors from France (excluding British nationals) are making a repeat trip to Britain (within ten years).
- 33% of visitors from France seeing friends and relatives (VFR) visitors in the UK are British nationals.
- 98% of departing visitors (excluding British nationals) are ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend a visit to Britain.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Sightseeing of famous buildings/monuments.
Going shopping.
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 | 2023 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 49.0 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 5 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 51.6 |
| Most visited destination | Spain |
Key demographic and economic data
| Measure | 2023 |
| Population (m) | 68 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 56,583 |
| Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 1.1 |
| Annual GDP growth (%) | 1.1 |
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 | 820 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 138,267 |
| Airports with direct routes in France | 35 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 23 |
| Eurostar trains per day from Paris | 17 |
| Weekly ferry crossings | 511 |
| Weekly Eurotunnel Shuttles | 259 |
- More than half of visits from France come via plane, 34% chose transport through the Channel Tunnel and 14% via sea in 2023.
- 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 96% of 2019 levels in 2023.
- French visitors flying home from Britain pay £13 in Air Passenger Duty.
Further resources
France Market Snapshot.pdf
France Market Snapshot
France Market Profile
Learn more about doing business with France, plus its event agencies and media.
France Aviation Profile
France Aviation Profile
France COVID-19 Travel Sentiment
France COVID-19 Travel Sentiment
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
Perceived barriers to exploring Britain beyond London for the French
Perceived barriers to exploring Britain beyond London for the French
The role of culture and heritage for French visitors
The role of culture and heritage for French visitors
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.
