Asian visitors to France up 16%

FRANCE has renewed its claim to be the world's most population destination - with new stats showing a rise in visitors from Asia, Russia and South America.

The French foreign ministry says 83.7 million tourists visited France last year. European visitors are down slightly, but this is made up for by an increase in numbers from tourists further overseas.

Foreign affairs minister Laurent Fabius has set a target for France to hit the 100 million visitor mark by 2020.

While 80% of tourists last year came from European countries, France was also very popular among Americans (6.6 million) and visitors from Asia (5 million).

Visitor numbers from emerging Asian markets were up 16% - helped by a new fast-track visa application process, meaning Chinese holidaymakers can have their travel documents ready in 48 hours. Other growing areas were Russia and Brazil.