13.25a - France lays out strategy to combat 'overtourism'

France, the world's biggest tourist destination, needed to better manage the peak-season influxes that threatened 'the environment, the quality of life for locals, & the experiences for its visitors.

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France lays out strategy to combat 'overtourism'

In the ‘le Bulletin’ for paying subscribers last week [13.24a - The Olympics in Paris 2024: Positive or negative] I raised the issue of overtourism and then I discussed whether events such as the Olympics are bound to compound this problem.

According to France 24: “During this week the French “Tourism minister Olivia Gregoire unveiled a plan to regulate visitor flows at the most popular sites and lay out a strategy against "overtourism".”

Whilst arguably overtourism is ruining parts of Paris, and France, finding a solution is not so simple because, of course, tourism is the lifeblood of France, as well as luxury, fashion, cars, and agriculture. The winners here could be the 99% of places that get overlooked in favor of the dreary, done-to-death ‘top 10’ lists. And that’s just another reason why at MyFrenchLife.org we’ve always favoured ‘off the beaten path’ type travel.

Olivia Gregoire said France, the world's biggest tourist destination, particularly needed to better manage the peak-season influxes that threatened "the environment, the quality of life for locals, and the experiences for its visitors".