Baguettes and crepes, French architecture and the River Seine — these are the things that bring the allure to France, which will become the world’s most visited country by 2025.
According to GlobalData, France will overtake the top spot by 2025 by attracting an average of 93.7 million international tourists, Conde Nast reported.
Spain is currently the favorite tourist stop, becoming the most popular country to visit by international travelers in 2021. The country is expected to see 89.5 million visitors by 2025, per City Magazine.
“Visitation to France and Spain will remain strong in the years to come, with festivals, culture and gastronomy being a big pull for tourists,” Hannah Free, travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData, said in a release. “Both countries have a lot to offer visitors, with their own unique cultures, cuisines and atmospheres. Both countries are also relatively large, with a diverse and varied landscape, and each country has its own unique coastline.”
What makes France such a popular tourist destination?
The country is picturesque and has one of the most renowned food cultures and cuisine in the world. It offers a host of unique art museums, ancient architecture, rich history and, of course, the iconic Eiffel Tower — which looks much more staggering in person than in photos.
It’s easily accessible by train for travelers within Europe and shares borders with eight different countries, which likely contributes to why 80% of visitors to France are European tourists, according to The Telegraph.
Transportation is one of the factors GlobalData cited for being such a highly trafficked destination, including a new rail line that is being constructed now.
“One key transportation project in Western Europe is the Ultra Rapid Train line, which is being planned by the European Commission to improve connectivity between Lisbon in Portugal and Helsinki in Finland,” Free said in a release. “The program involves the construction of an 8,000-kilometer doubletrack high-speed railway network between Lisbon and Helsinki with a loop around the Baltic Sea. The rail line will pass through, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland.”
If you’re hoping to be one of those visitors, book your trip early and look into hotel and activity packages to get the best deals.