As the world’s top tourist destination, France welcomes 102 million international visitors, and tourism accounts for 3.8% of its GDP. However, the vacation participation rate has plateaued at around 60% since the 1980s, leaving a significant portion of the population unable to take a vacation each year.
The study analyzes this disparity from historical, geographical, and institutional perspectives. After representing a major social achievement beginning in 1936, access to vacations gradually faded from the public agenda when tourism became, in the 1980s, a strategic industry geared toward international customers. The concentration of commercial lodging, the prevalence of second homes, the shift toward higher-end offerings, and the lack of coordination in financial assistance further limit opportunities for low-income households to take vacations. Added to this are the effects of climate change on social tourism in mid-mountain regions and the growing role of digital leisure as an alternative form of escape.
The study proposes four key directions: improving statistical data, simplifying access to financial assistance, supporting investment in social and solidarity-based tourism, and creating a national travel assistance fund modeled after the Spanish and Portuguese systems. Ten tourism professionals round out the analysis with proposals drawn from the field.
The authors, Jean Pinard, a specialist in tourism policy, mobility, and social tourism, and Rémy Oudghiri, a sociologist and CEO of Sociovision, combine their expertise in tourism, lifestyles, and future studies.
Find the full study on the Institut Terram website:
Vacations: History and Geography of an Unfulfilled Right – Terram Institute
