One million jobs linked to the presence of tourists – More than half in urban areas

In 2011 in Metropolitan France, tourism generated 1.3 million jobs, i.e. 4% of total employment: 1 million local jobs linked to the presence of tourists at the place where they were staying, and 0.3 million to other aspects of tourism, like travelling or preparation for it. Looking only at local tourism-related employment, more than half was concentrated in urban areas, ahead of coastal and mountainous areas. In coastal municipalities, employment varied greatly by season; in urban areas on the other hand, it fluctuated much less over the year. Generally, the main tourism sectors were accommodation and catering. In ski resorts however, sports activities and leisure were the key sectors. Looking beyond employment, wealth generated locally by tourism was particularly sizeable in the Paris metropolitan area: tourism there was oriented towards high value-added activities such as luxury hotels, to a greater extent than in the rest of France.