France retains tourism crown

France welcomed 82.6million tourists in 2016, to retain its crown as the world's most popular destination for holidaymakers.

The 2016 figure was 2% lower than the previous year, figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) revealed. The classification is calculated according to the number of visitors who spend at least one night in a country.

There had been concerns that there would be a greater drop in visitor numbers following the 2015 terror attacks.

Despite the figures, 2016 has been described as 'a difficult year' for the tourism industry in France, and tourism officials have been delighted with encouraging signs of improvement in the early part of 2017.

According to forecasts, the number of foreign tourists visiting France this year could reach a record 89million - a 6% increase on 2016, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said recently, after it was revealed the number of overseas visitors in the first half of the year had returned to 2015 levels.

Early indicators are that the number of tourists from Japan, Russia and Brazil will jump 30% year on year, visitors from India have risen 20%, and US travellers are heading to France in record numbers, Mr Le Drian said.

The USA was second in the UNWTO list, with 75.6million visitors, narrowly ahead of Spain, which welcomed 75.5million tourists in 2016.

Despite being at the top of the visitor list, tourists tend not to spend as much in France. The UNWTO said that the US came top of tourism money earned, with visitors spending a whopping €173billion. Spain was second, early €50.6billion from tourism, followed by Thailand and China. France trailed in at fifth, earning €35.4billion in tourism euros.

The UK, which came sixth in tourist numbers, earned €28.7billion in tourist revenue - a drop from third to seventh due in part to the fall in value of sterling after Brexit, added the UNWTO.