France in wine tourism push

France wants to develop its wine tourism industry as part of a series of measures to make the country more attractive to foreign visitors.

French foreign affairs minister Laurent Fabius announced the tourism drive last week (Photo: Wiki)

France is home to some of the most famous wineries and wine regions in the world, and promoting that as draw for tourists, not just people involved in the wine business, will now be a key initiative for the government.

With an eye on attracting 100 million tourists per year by 2020, France’s foreign affairs minister, Laurent Fabius, told a news conference last week that “tourism is a national treasure”.

AP reports Fabius saying, “Wine is an important sector to attract foreign customers in our beautiful wine-growing regions that are still under-visited: Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Languedoc, Rhone, Champagne, etc.”

Among the measures being taken will be the creation of an investment fund, to be set up by the autumn, that it is hoped will pump money into wine regions to develop tourist facilities.

As a “national priority”, France will speed up its visa-application process and the process for claiming back VAT to further attract visitors to the country.

Fabius also committed to ensuring high-speed internet coverage in the country’s main tourist areas, and introducing a “city pass” for tourists to use on public transport and museums in the Paris area.

Tourism accounts for more than two million jobs and 7% of GDP, the French Foreign Office estimates.

France will host its first annual tourism conference in October, which will bring together government ministers and tourism professionals to asses the impact of the measures and attempt to build on the tourism initiative.