Wine tourism visitors to France break through 10 million barrier in 2016

In 2016, 10 million wine tourists visited the French wine regions generating revenue of 5.2 billion euros, according to estimates by Atout France*. Comparing estimates for 2016 with those for 2009, Atout France points to significant gains: the number of French wine tourists, which account for 58% of the total, surged by 29% whilst foreign wine tourist numbers rose by a staggering 40%. Half of foreign holidaymakers are either Belgian or British.
By destination, Bordeaux attracted the most visitors with 18% of wine tourists touring the area, followed by Champagne (17%), Alsace (17%), Burgundy (16%), the Loire Valley (13%), Provence (12%), the Rhone Valley (12%), Beaujolais (8%), Savoy (3%), South-West France (5%), Roussillon (5%), Cognac (4%), Armagnac (4%), Bergerac (4%), Jura (2%) and Corsica (2%). The sum of all these percentages is higher than 100% because wine tourists can visit more than one region.

*The data was collected from surveys conducted at wine tourism sites and interviews with their executives, as well as research with potential wine tourists in five markets – France, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.


[ Source: Vitisphere. Photo: Atout France ]