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Leisure

Tourism

The ecotourism market - France

An analysis with all the essential information for a clear, complete and quantified view of this market.

Available in French

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Study Overview

The tourism sector alone is responsible for 11% of France's greenhouse gas emissions. Historically, tourism began as a cultural practice before becoming a mass phenomenon with major economic implications. In the 18th century, the "Grand Tour" was the initiatory year-long journey across Europe by young British aristocrats. Tourism as we know it emerged in the 19th century. In the 1840s, Thomas Cook created organized tours of Britain. Thanks to innovations in means of transport, these trips exploded and became a habit for Europeans, and hence for the French. The term "ecotourism" was introduced by Hector Ceballos-Lascurain in 1983 to describe nature-based travel in preserved areas, with an emphasis on education. Since then, the concept has evolved to include principles of sustainability and community involvement. It was in 1992 that the International Ecotourism Society defined it as "a form of responsible travel in natural areas that contributes to the protection of the environment and the well-being of local populations." Ecotourism is part of the category of responsible tourism, which includes the following terms:

ecotourism Responsible tourism Fair tourism Solidarity tourism Ethical tourism Sustainable tourism

Ecotourism is a sustainable response to mass tourism, which continues to develop without realizing the risks it represents for the environment. Ecotourism encompasses a number of concepts and offers a wide variety of services: eco-responsible tourist activities, responsible accommodation (eco-hotels, eco-lodges, eco-villages), thoughtful travel, etc.

In France, this type of eco-friendly tourism has been supported by the Association française d'écotourisme since 2005 and the Association des voyageurs et tour-opérateurs écoresponsables since 2007. Ecotourism is gradually becoming a real social phenomenon, and is no longer the preserve of environmental activists or those with a keen awareness of the issue.

As the world's leading tourist destination, with 98 million arrivals in France by 2023, France's ecotourism potential is not negligible: france's main ecotourism regions include the Causses du Quercy nature park in the Midi-Pyrénées region, the Tarentaise valley in the Rhône-Alpes region and the Côte de Granit rose in Brittany. Although steadily increasing in recent years, ecotourism still represents only a small fraction of the French tourism market, and faces challenges such as the reluctance of some French people to switch to this type of tourism.akes to switch to this type of tourism due to the higher prices offered by traditional alternatives, but also to the resurgence of climate sceptics in France(11% of French people in 2023 according to an IPSOS poll). However, eco-tourism can benefit from the legitimacy of green labels (Clean Ports, Green Key) and emerging trends such as carbon offsetting and quotas in natural areas, coupled with a diversification of the offer.

Key takeaways

Growth and sector challenges
Demand analysis
Market structure and organization
Supply and pricing analysis
Player segmentation
Latest trends and innovations

Methodology

Our methodology

Our method combines human expertise and a large corpus of sources, including exclusive and private data, for optimal understanding of the sector

Broad source base

• National, international, and private databases
• Professional press and polling institutes
• Industry reports, company financial statements...

Exclusive data

• Indexpresse sectoral database
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• Expert interviews and proprietary indicators

Human expertise

• Experienced research analysts
• Know-how developed through 1500+ studies
• In-depth and rigorous analysis

Visual and actionable reports

• Graphic studies with synthetic structure
• Downloadable data
• Link to original sources

Contents

Sommaire

1. Market summary
- 1.1 Market definition
- 1.2 The booming global market
- 1.3 A small but growing French market
- 1.4 The carbon footprint of tourist travel
2. Demand analysis
- 2.1 Awareness of the need to move towards more sustainable tourism
- 2.2 Sociological analysis
- 2.3 Means of transport and ecotourism
- 2.4 French people looking for longer stays
3. Market structure
- 3.1 Eco-tourism value chain and players
- 3.2 Ecotourism associations
- 3.3 Sustainability labels
4. Offer analysis
- 4.1 Offer typology
- 4.2 Offer pricing
- 4.3 Supply trends
5. Rules and regulations
- 5.1 Regulations
- 5.2 The ATR label