France tourism proves resilient despite heat and wildfires - but the holiday map is changing

France’s tourism sector has performed well this summer despite record heat, wildfires and geopolitical uncertainty - but the country’s traditional holiday map has started to shift.

Early figures from Alliance France Tourisme, a tourism industry think tank, show that the sector has weathered initial fears over extreme weather and the knock-on effect of conflict in the Middle East better than expected. However, one change is where holidaymakers have chosen to go.

“Record heat did not reduce demand but redistributed it,” Alliance France Tourisme told The Connexion.

While the Côte d’Azur and Paris continued to attract large numbers of visitors, cooler northern destinations performed strongly, with Normandy, Brittany, the Channel coast and the Alps all benefiting from changing travel patterns.

Tourism Minister Serge Papin also had a positive view of the summer saying that “2025 was a very good year [...] and in 2026, we’re going to do at least as well, if not better.” He also highlighted the mountains, saying they were “becoming a major tourist destination,” and parts of the Manche “which a few years ago were not very busy,” are now “saturated.”

A strong start to the summer and a shift

In June, 79.1% of French hotel rooms were occupied, 1.3 percentage points more than in the same month last year. July was also ahead of 2025, with occupancy up 0.9 points.

The figures are notable given that July was the hottest month ever recorded in France, with an average temperature of 24.9C.

The heat did appear to influence destination choice. The Channel coast “gained 4.5 points in occupancy in July and exceeded 90% in August, with a clear shift in mid-July, after the peak of the heatwave”, Alliance France Tourisme said.

Normandy was the strongest-performing region in its figures, with occupancy up 2.6 points and revenue per available room up 5.9% in June and July.

Even during the first half of August, when national occupancy fell, 85.2% of rooms were occupied in Normandy, up 1.6 points from a year earlier.

In Hauts-de-France, Dunkirk passed 90% occupancy during the same period, more than eight points above 2025, while Le Touquet’s revenue per room rose by around a quarter in July.

Brittany and the Alps also had a strong summer. Brittany’s August occupancy increased by 1.6 points and revenue per available room by 6.1%, while revenue per available room in the Northern Alps rose by 12.8% in June and July.

Regarding whether this is a lasting change or a reaction to an exceptional summer, the association said that “while it's still difficult to say for sure, the English Channel coast is experiencing its second consecutive summer of growth, and the Northern Alps their third”, indicating a probable lasting shift.  

The extreme temperatures may also have changed what holidaymakers expect from their accommodation.

Laurent Barthélémy, president of UMIH Saisonniers, which represents seasonal hospitality businesses, said one change he noticed and expects to last is the importance of air conditioning. 

Following this summer’s extreme temperatures, he said the “biggest factor” for holidaymakers when choosing accommodation was whether it had air conditioning, showing a growing demand for comfort in the face of increasingly hot summers.

However, the strong performance of cooler destinations did not mean a downturn everywhere else. Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, for example, recorded the country’s highest regional occupancy at 83.1% - and revenue per available room increased by 7.8%. The high occupancy remained stable even during the more challenging month of August. 

Paris also performed well. Hotel occupancy reached 90% in June and 84.6% in July, while the wider Île-de-France region welcomed 13.3 million tourists between June and August, up 3% on 2025.

You can check how well each region performed in the map provided by Alliance France Tourisme here. The map and data are only available in French. 

A difficult August

The picture became less positive at the start of August.

Between August 1 and 17, national hotel occupancy stood at 72.5%, down 0.7 points from a year earlier, while revenue per available room fell 1.5%.

The Gironde fires added to the uncertainty. After a relatively strong July, hotel occupancy in the department fell by around 10 points during the first half of August as cancellations followed the fires, which began on July 22.

The Alliance France Tourisme said high prices and renewed geopolitical tensions also contributed to a more cautious approach to bookings.

A different picture on the ground

Mr Barthélémy said the figures for 2026 did not seem to be better than 2025.

Although hotels were often full, particularly during the August heatwave, he said this did not necessarily translate into stronger activity across the wider tourism economy.

“The hotels were full, but in restaurants and bars, people were not spending in the same way,” Mr Barthélémy told The Connexion.

He said the cost of living was affecting holiday spending. “Everything costs a lot today…the gas, the prices, the food,” he said, adding that people were ordering fewer drinks, avoiding desserts or choosing something to share.

He also noted that “many reservations were being made very late”.

Mr Barthélémy said the visitor profile had remained broadly similar, with French and European tourists, including those from the UK, continuing to make up much of the market.

Luxury tourism in established destinations such as the Côte d’Azur, he said, appeared to be largely untouched, with no significant change at the high end of the market.

For Barthélémy, however, the biggest structural change in 2026 is not related to the weather but to confidence.

“There is a lack of trust,” he said, pointing to geopolitical instability and domestic political tensions as factors affecting consumer confidence.

People are less inclined to spend or go on holiday when they lack “hope” and “confidence”, he said, both of which are needed to support purchasing power.

More visitors could be travelling later

The weaker start to August has not been followed by a similar drop in later bookings.

Reservations for the second half of August are two to five points ahead of last year on some days. September bookings are currently around the same level as 2025 or slightly higher.

The first week of September is also performing well, with bookings two to six points ahead of last year, although some reservations for the month have yet to be made.

These figures suggest that some demand for the busiest weeks of summer may be shifting towards later in the season.

However, Mr Barthélémy is less convinced that this will translate into a longer season. Most French families with children have already returned for the new school year, he said, and people generally do not take holidays as frequently once the school year has begun.

If you work in the tourism sector, how was your summer 2026? Did it match this announcement? Tell us at feedback@connexionfrance.com