Hospitality And Tourism In France

Introduction           

France is one of the most famous destinations for tourism and hospitality in the world. Many people from all around the world visit France for vacations; this creates the needs for allied services that are associated with tourism and hospitality industry. The scenic beauty of France and historical landmarks make it a perfect destination for tourists.

Accommodation facilities and services are the backbone of hospitality industry it is required for the tourists; availability of proper accommodation facilities in a particular destination is an important criterion for the tourists to decide whether or not they will be choosing to spend their vacation. France is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world. Tourists from all around the world visit France therefore it creates a need for the best accommodation facilities so that the experiences of the tourists are very good (Presenza et al., 2015).

Catering is also one of the important services of the hospitality industry. France is one of the countries that is known for the cuisines as well. It has a historical significance and still the people of France are attached to the culture of their country (Presenza et al., 2015).

Discussion

Accommodation and Catering is one of the most important areas of hospitality. In France, the hospitality industry contributes directly to GDP growth of 3.1% and provides 6 million net employment opportunities in this sector (Tan & Coulon, 2015). Overall, accommodation & catering generated US$7.6 trillion (10.2% of global GDP) and 292 million employment in 2016, which is equal to 1 in 10 jobs in the globally. The sector contributed 6.6% towards global exports and approximately 30% of the total global service exports.   In the second quarter 2015 and the second quarter 2016, on the basis of accommodation provider (Tan & Coulon, 2015). On a yearly basis, the occupancy rate remained constant. More than 50 percent of the other jobs in France are, either directly or indirectly related to tourism and its allied industries like accommodation and catering industries (Gustavo, 2013). In the year 2014 the maximum numbers of tourists visiting France were from Europe, approximately 68,436,000 tourists arrivals were registered. On country basis the maximum number of tourists visiting France were from Switzerland. In the same year the most nights spent were by the tourists of United Kingdom, 79,700,000 nights (Occupancy rate of tourist accommodation establishments in France from 2016 to 2017, 2017)

The occupancy rate of hotels and other accommodation facilities in the first quarter of the year 2016-2017 was 62.7 percent and in the second quarter was 63.5 percent (Occupancy rate of tourist accommodation establishments in France from 2016 to 2017, 2017)

Number of hotels in various cities of France

Paris- 7,768 hotels

Lyon- 816 Hotels

Marseille- 696 hotels

Toulouse- 427 hotels

Strasbourg- 389 hotels

Nice- 2,430 hotels

Bordeaux -781 hotels

Cannes- 2,205

Montpellier- 429 hotels (Occupancy rate of tourist accommodation establishments in France from 2016 to 2017, 2017)

There is variety of hotels in France, the best hotels of France include the Hotel Eden of Paris, there are several boutique luxury hotels that are present in France and it provides the travelers one of the best travelling experiences that they ever had. The hotels provide a variety of facilities, the five star hotels have swimming pools, party lounges, conference areas for MICE tourists (Jean-Pierre & Perrain, 2016). Some of the hotels have libraries for the book lovers where there are variety of literature works present by the great authors of France and other countries as well, France is known for literature because it has been a country that has huge contribution to art and literature. The accommodation facilities have a glimpse of the art and culture of France that had historical significance and which is still celebrated by the people of France. (Gustavo, 2013).

French cuisine includes several cooking traditions and practices of France. Chefs François Pierre LaVarenne and Marie-Antoine Carême of 17^th century led a movement that changed French cooking style the foreign influences in the cooking style was changed to France's traditional style of cooking. Cheese and wine are considered an important part of the French cuisine. They play different roles in their regions and at national level, with many differences. Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) (regulated appellation) are the laws of the country (Presenza et al., 2015).

France is worldwide known for its café culture and there are many coffee shops, bakery and dessert shops that attract a lot of people who love and enjoy eating food. For people who have sweet tooth France, some of the deserts are Clafoutis, Tarte Tatin and Crepes, Pierre Herme and Pain du Sucre are famous desert shops in Paris.  La Coupoles and Maxim’s Le Chantcler are two famous restaurants that attracts tourists all around the world who contribute to the economy of the country (Corne, 2015).

However there are many factors that negatively affect the hospitality of France, it reduces the tourists movement and the industry suffers a great deal of loss, especially the hotels, where their business runs at a slower rate.

Seasonality- Peak seasons and off seasons determines the number of tourist arrivals, temperature, snow, hours of sunshine are some of the factors that are considered by the tourists. During the off seasons and when there are no vacations, the business goes at a slower pace (Jean-Pierre & Perrain, 2016).

Terrorism- Recent terrorist attacks in France and other parts of Europe have threatened the tourists which has affected the hospitality industry. The movement of people has reduced and they are switching to destinations which they feel are safer (Tan & Coulon, 2015).

Conclusion      

France is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world and the significance of France has never changed. People visit France to visit the popular destination like Eiffel tower. The countries have a lot of significance in the area of art and culture as well, the connoisseur of art and culture visit France. The accommodation industry of France is very efficient and the travelers get the best hotels to stay in France. These hotels range from the budget motels to the luxury excellent five star hotels. The travelers also enjoy the world-class luxury boutique hotels which lets the tourists and the travelers customize the services that are provided to the tourists. As far as food and the catering industries are concerned France is widely popular for its cuisines especially the deserts of France are very popular, the café culture of France is the reason there are many bakery shops, coffee shop and desert shops that are present throughout France, in Paris, Boudreaux and other popular destinations of France. However, seasonality and terrorist activities have been affecting the hospitality industry.

Reflection

France is one of my favorite destinations that I would like to visit, according to me the Catering and accommodation facilities in France largely contribute towards making the destination a perfect tourism spot. It is industry that has great potential in generating growth and giving a boost to the economy and undoubtedly it has been the reasons why France is one of the world. According to me if people are asked about the criteria for selection of the best tourism destinations they will surely say that Accommodation and catering are the most important things that they will consider for selecting a destination.

References

Corne, A. (2015). Benchmarking and tourism efficiency in France. Tourism Management, 51, 91-95.

Gustavo, N. (2013). Marketing management trends in tourism and hospitality industry: Facing the 21st century environment. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 5(3), 13.

Jean-Pierre, P., & Perrain, D. (2016). France, tourism.

Occupancy rate of tourist accommodation establishments in France from 2016 to 2017, t. (2017). Tourist accommodation occupancy rate France 2016-2017 | Statistic. Statista. Retrieved 22 September 2017, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/459842/occupancy-rate-tourist-accommodation-in-france/

Presenza, A., Abbate, T., Casali, G. L., & Perano, M. (2017). An innovative approach to the intellectual property in haute cuisine. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 65, 81-88.

Symons, M. (2013). The rise of the restaurant and the fate of hospitality. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25(2), 247-263.

Tan, V. T., & Coulon, M. (2015). Evaluation of French luxury hotels by UK leisure travelers: an online reviews analysis. In The 5th Advances in Hospitality & Tourism Marketing and Management (AHTMM) Conference, Beppu, Japan, 18-21 June 2015 (pp. 381-389). Washington State University.