ITB Berlin News - Day 2

4 NEWS
France Remains
The Most Popular Tourist
Destination In The World
French Minister Matthias Fekl explains the
irrepressible appeal of this major European
destination
M a t t h i a s F e k l ,
Secretary of State for
Foreign Trade, the
Promotion of Tourism
and French Nationals
Abroad, is wellplaced
to guide ITB
Berlin News through
the current state of
tourism in France:
With an estimated
82.5million tourist visitors
in 2016, France is the
world’s leading tourist
destination thanks to the
beauty and diversity of its
landscapes and its wealth
of cultural and gastronomic
heritage. Not to mention
the professionalism of its
tourism stakeholders who
ensure visitors receive a
great welcome. In France,
our tourism ambition is
national and the country is
mobilized together behind
one great goal: receiving
100 million tourists per
year by 2020.
What are you doing to help
achieve this ambitious
goal?
The arrival conditions for
visitors in France have been
facilitated and improved
considerably. In addition to
issuing tourist visas within
48 hours in most countries,
w e h a v e i m p r o v e d
information in our airports,
our public transport and
at tourist attractions
by designing simpler,
more easily-understood
multilingual signs. We
have also facilitated travel
between Paris and its
airports by establishing
affordable, fixed and preset
taxi prices both ways.
In France’s main tourism
Matthias
Fekl
Secretary of State for
Foreign Trade, the
Promotion of Tourism and
French Nationals Abroad
and shopping areas, shops
now open on Sundays and
over wider periods in the
evening. Indeed, shopping
is a factor that contributes
to tourists choosing to visit
France.
Are you focusing on
any specific products or
destinations?
“Destination contracts”
and “centres of tourism
e x c e l l e n c e ” s e e k t o
p r o m o t e t h e b e a u t y,
wealth and diversity of
our regions, and to give
tourists a desire to see new
places throughout France.
We have 42 UNESCO World
Heritage sites. A map of
our world-renowned chefs,
restaurants and bistros
offers a genuine travel plan
in itself; likewise the appeal
of our vineyards and wine
tourism. France’s tourism
offer also includes ecotourism,
which is taking
off, and the beauty of our
mountains and coastlines.
The available river and
sea cruises, for example,
have been developed
considerably, for we have
8,500 km of navigable rivers
and canals, and 5,500 km
of coast, in addition to
our overseas territories in
the Caribbean, the Indian
Ocean and the Pacific,
between New Caledonia
and Polynesia. That is the
second-largest maritime
area in the world.
Naturally, international
t r a v e l l e r s w i l l h a v e
security fears. How can
you reassure them?
We have also done a lot of
work to ensure the safety
of our visitors. Additional
police forces have been
d e p l o y e d a c r o s s t h e
country. The major tourist
sites and department stores
have also had their security
enhanced.
Hall 1.1 / Stand 201
THE
COUNTRY IS
MOBILIZED
TOGETHER
BEHIND ONE
GREAT GOAL:
RECEIVING
100 MILLION
TOURISTS PER
YEAR BY 2020
ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 9 th March 2017
www.itb-berlin-news.com