France to focus more on experience tourism, slow travel to newer region

With growing interest of Indian travellers in mountains, shopping and gastronomy, Franc looking to attract slow travellers, who are keen to explore newer regions. “India is within t top 15 source markets for France. The arrival figures for the first half of the year (mid June at an approximate of 4,99,000,” said Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France India. The French tourism agency in India recently organised the 5th edition of its offsite B2B showc Explore France, in Kochi. France continues to draw a strong growth in visitor arrivals from India, with the latter ranking at 15th in terms of visitor arrivals to the European nation. Set to catch up with pre-pandemic numbers of 704,230 visitors from India in 2019, 4,99,180 Indians travelled to France between January to June of 2023. This is as against 4,30,180 visitors in 2022 (with no travel in the first quarter because of Omicron). According to Oxford Economic, Indian visitors to France spent USD 0.47 billion USD in the first half of 2023 as against USD 0.29 billion in 2022. In October, a delegation of 33 French companies travelled to India to interact with the key representatives of the Indian tourism industry and promote their product over 2 days of scheduled meetings.The event, organised by Atout France-France Tourism Development Agency in Kochi (Kerala), is the 5th edition of its flagship B2B event, that is aimed at building successful synergies between French tourism partners and the travel trade fraternity pan India. Last year, it was held in Udaipur, Rajasthan.“We have had a very satisfying turnout for this edition of our showcase. Both our partners and agents displayed strong levels of motivation and a keen interest in the showcase of destination France to the discerning Indian traveller,” said Munshaw. And now, with the Olympic and Paralympic Games slated to take place in Paris next year, she opined that the interactions between the partners and agents would play a key role in establishing France’s strategic positioning as a preferred tourist destination for this year and the next.This year also marks 20 years of Atout France’s presence in IndiaAn approximate of 1,500 scheduled meetings took place between buyers and exhibitors over the two days of interactive exchanges, reinforcing India’s potential as a source market for destination France. The French delegation represented the diversity of France’s touristic offering and included tourism boards – both from regions and individual cities, sightseeing operators, hoteliers and transport companies. It was a blend of partners who have maintained a steadfast presence on the market and those interested in venturing into the market. In fact, one of the participating partners, Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, is all set to make its India foray in Mumbai and open its gates to the public in 2024. “The next and the 16th edition of the Rendez-vous en France trade show will take place in Toulouse, in the Occitanie region. So we are really excited to have them here,” said Munshaw. “Though skiing is very niche in India, but Indians love the mountains and we are really looking forward to having more tourists travel to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region,” she added. Added Barbara Breheret on behalf of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tourisme, “Apart from mountains, we would like to tap the Indians’ interest in French gastronomy. Our new product is aimed to promote gastronomy in three regions – Burgundy, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence. We are looking to attract repeat travellers who seek experiences around wine and food.”