(Paris) While tourists still associate France with high-end catering, Spain and Italy are taking precedence in terms of local gastronomy, according to a Toluna-Harris Interactive survey conducted for Atout France among nearly 30,000 international travelers.
The reception of the French and excessively high prices are damaging the destination, according to this study published on Tuesday by the French tourism promotion agency, as Paris prepares to receive 15 million visitors for the Olympic Games this summer.
When asked about their travel intentions, the 28,844 people from about 30 countries surveyed online from March 12 to April 2 ranked Spain and Italy tied for first, followed by France in third.
When it comes to luxury restaurants, wine tours, shopping and sporting events, France leads the way in tourists’ associations of ideas.
On the contrary, Spain and Italy are distinguished by charming villages, nature reserves, cultural places and local gastronomy.
“One of France’s biggest problems is the competition from its neighbors (…) which are assessed much more positively on issues that today are a weakness of the French destination: the weather is not always good, the reception of properties is criticized, prices are considered high, the ability to swim and relax is seen as relatively limited…’, the authors note.
All is not lost for the French catering industry, as Olympic spectators have already started making reservations, according to another study published on Tuesday by platform TheFork.
On this site (formerly La Fourchette, and owned by TripAdvisor), reservations during the gaming period have more than doubled compared to the year before, especially for July 26 and 27, the days of the opening ceremony.
Moreover, according to TheFork, 50% of reservations are made at gourmet restaurants.
In addition to its own data, the platform called on Opinionway to investigate the intentions of the French in restaurants this summer, and 90% of respondents stated that they would rather “eat at the table during the Olympic and Paralympic Games than on the go to eat.
A large majority of respondents (86%) also indicate that they want to “(re)discover French cuisine, with 50% of them having a clear preference for regional specialties”.
In addition, the platform indicates that it is working with the government, especially in view of the Paralympic Games, to offer people with disabilities the opportunity to find and reserve adapted tables on its site by adding the Acceslibre filter.