Tourism trade in France for summer 2012 falls

AN initial look at the summer 2012 tourist trade in France has found a drop of 1.6% in the number of those staying in holiday accommodation compared to last year.

Poor weather in July saw a 7.1% drop in numbers, and although August saw a 3% increase due to warm sunshine, it still wasn't enough to turn around a mixed summer season.

It seems that many French people were tightening their belts, as there was a fall of 2.8% for overnight stays by the locals, although foreign visitor numbers were up 3.8%.

Interestingly the London Olympics had an overspill effect on the north of France, with the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region experiencing an influx of delegates and staff from international teams.

An increasingly popular feature of the tourism trade are focused tours around visitor interests, for example, the appeal of wine routes, cycle tours and music festivals allowing packages to be offered.

However, there is still a feeling that more could be done to ensure visitors get the best information and options to help the industry in France, therefore ways to improve the connection between government, local authorities and those in the tourism industry are to be explored.

Do you have a holiday home in France, or run a business dependent on the tourism industry, if so what support do you need to help boost visitor numbers?