‘Le Tourisme en France’, published in 2021 by iSTE Editions, is the 5th book in a collection specifically devoted to tourism studies. It comprises two volumes, the first entitled ‘A global approach’ and the second ‘A regional approach’. In total this represents 493 pages of text, providing a comprehensive analysis of tourism in mainland France and in its overseas territories. The four authors are all recognised specialists in the study of tourism.

In the first volume (Le tourisme en France 1) the text is divided into two parts, the first looking at the major characteristics of tourism and the second focussing on contemporary issues/challenges for tourism. The first part consists of six chapters, preceded by a general introduction in which the authors briefly develop two main themes. They justify this contribution to the tourist literature by the importance of tourism in France and by the fact that many previous texts are now dated; they also regret the absence in many cases of reliable, up-to-date official statistics on tourism in France and the tendency to underestimate the sector’s economic benefits. The problem of reliable data is a point to which the authors return in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of tourism in France, showing how the number of tourists has evolved over time to the extent that France has now one the highest departure rates. However, inequalities remain, relating to factors such as income or age. This theme is continued in chapter 2 which highlights the difference in departure rates between urban and rural residents. The same chapter also looks at travel patterns (with the overwhelming importance of the car), choices of holiday destination and patterns of accommodation. Having analysed domestic tourism, the arrival of foreign tourists in France is reviewed in chapter 3. Since 1980 France is the primary destination for foreign tourists, contrasting with the comparatively small proportion of French people who holiday abroad – only around 25% of the population. This was true even before the Covid 19 pandemic. Chapter 4 concentrates on tourism’s economic impact. Problems of measuring precisely this impact are outlined although it is generally accepted that the sector contributes around 7.4% (2018) of French GDP. It is shown that France globally has a positive balance of payments account in tourism, although for certain countries this is not the case (for example, Spain and Portugal). Employment in the tourist industry is discussed and although the sector accounts for a large number of jobs many of them are poorly paid. The provision of different types of tourist accommodation is analysed in some detail with the aid of a series of maps indicating in most cases the popularity of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts and the Alps; the distribution of hotels is an exception with a strong concentration in the Paris region. Reference is made to some of the major companies and investors involved in developing tourist accommodation (for example Pierre et Vacances). Other actors working in the accommodation field, such as tour operators and travel agents are also discussed. The authors also put forward the idea that both the government and the elites in France fail to take seriously the role of tourism in the economy.

Chapter 5 is centred on spatial disparities in tourist activities, complementing part of the previous chapter that focussed on infrastructures. Using indicators such as tourist nights to show the holiday destinations of French tourists, unsurprisingly this reveals a similar pattern to that observed before. The maps also demonstrate forcibly the vast extent of interior areas of the country which fail to attract tourists. A distinction is also made between the highly developed tourist zones in peripheral coastal and mountainous regions (‘les marges’) and those tourist centres associated with urbanised and more densely populated areas (‘les pleins’). This notion forms the basis of the analysis in the first part of the second volume of the regional approach. When it comes to looking at the distribution of foreign tourists in France different spatial patterns emerge with a much greater focus on the capital (this is particularly true of the Chinese) and south east France. The last part of the chapter refers to some of the factors that have influenced these patterns and demonstrates how geographers’ analyses of tourist distributions have evolved over time. The final chapter (6) in this first part is devoted to the strategies of institutional actors, ranging from central government to local authorities. It suggests that the government has rarely had a coherent strategy with respect to this sector although there has been a strong link between tourism and regional planning and development, as well as a more constructive attitude to the role of tourism over recent years; nonetheless, the authors indicate that even in this respect too much emphasis has been placed on rural areas. They also stress that holidays should be about giving people the freedom to do what they want and that tourist facilities should be determined by demand not by supply.

In the second part of the first volume attention is focussed on contemporary issues in tourism. Thus, in chapter 7 France is set in a global context in relation to major world tourist markets and their evolution over time. The question of sustainable development and tourism is then the basis of extensive analysis in chapter 8. Having outlined different ‘protected spaces’, there is a detailed presentation of the legislation designed to protect mountainous and coastal regions. This includes a detailed examination of the policy, dating from 1976, of protecting sites which attract a large number of tourists and which need rehabilitation and new managerial approaches (‘Grands sites’). The Mont St. Michel is used to illustrate this policy. Other ways of reducing the environmental impact of tourism are discussed such as ecotourism and slow tourism. The thorny question of sustainability and mobility is explored in the context of the need for freedom of mobility but the incompatibility of car use with environmental protection. The same framework is used for air transport, particularly in the light of the boost to such mobility provided by low-cost airlines.

Given this need for sustainability, chapter 9 deals with the imagination and creation of new tourism resources and the renewal of existing activities. Much of the discussion revolves around ideas of diversification - developing heritage and memorial tourism, extending the range of summer outdoor sports activities, as well as providing for indoor sporting pursuits (including climbing walls and indoor surfing). There is also a detailed discussion of the importance played by shopping in tourist pursuits. Several French ports (notably Marseille) have diversified their activities as stop-off points for cruise liners but the authors explain that comparatively few French people are attracted by this form of tourism and that the large number of tourists disembarked by foreign cruise ships does not only have beneficial impacts but also generates difficulties for local communities in coping with such influxes. In the last chapter of this volume (chapter 10) there is a strong geographical orientation as the authors examine contemporary issues associated with the development of tourist places. A wide range of themes is explored, including the growing problem of over-tourism although the authors suggest this only affects a relatively limited number of destinations. Nonetheless, they recognise the need for regulation. The rise of rental platforms such as Airbnb is also discussed, looking at both the benefits and shortcomings. The theme of diversification is raised again, but this time in relation to different types of locality (for example, developing summer-based activities in ski resorts). The chapter also looks at the option of welcoming new temporary populations for conferences and a wide range of festivals as well as the important role that the location of universities in resort towns can play in attracting a large number of temporary residents requiring a wide range of services (also available to permanent inhabitants). Several examples are cited, notably La Rochelle. Resorts and their amenities have also become attractive for permanent residents, especially but by no means exclusively for retired people. La Baule is used as an example. The subsequent short concluding section looks at tourism faced with the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on tourism behaviour with, for example, the revival of the idea of staycations and their sustainable benefits such as less travel. While the authors agree on the need for a more responsible and sustainable tourism, they do not necessarily envisage tourism changing radically in the forthcoming future. Finally they suggest that Covid-19 has indeed induced some fundamental changes in tourism patterns in France but it has also provoked extensive discussion about the future of tourism.

The structure of the second volume (A regional approach) is a repeat of the first. It is divided into two parts - Tourist regions of metropolitan France and Tourism in the Overseas territories of France. Each section is again divided into different chapters.

Chapter 1 is centred on the intensely developed, largely peripheral tourist regions represented by the coastal fringe and mountainous regions, essentially the Alps (‘les marges’ referred to above). The authors look for similarities in the ways in which these two types of space have developed as tourist regions. They point, for example to new forms of leisure and tourist pursuits – the explosion since the Second World War of the ‘sun, sea and sand’ (3S) syndrome for the coast and in mountainous regions the rapid growth in the popularity of skiing. In both cases improved accessibility and urban proximity are seen as significant facilitating factors. Similarly, these two types of region have been subject to important state intervention, especially in the 1960s, in conceiving and facilitating the construction of new tourist complexes. All these themes are examined in detail, using numerous examples. In terms of restructuring tourist centres, to illustrate this theme, it is shown how in the aftermath of the Second World War the coastal zone of the Normandy beaches has been able to develop a new development model based partly on memorial and heritage tourism. A further example of reconversion is provided by reference to the revival of spa towns.

Densely populated and urbanised areas with well-developed tourist activities (‘les pleins’, see above) are the subject of the second chapter. Much attention is focussed on Paris with a detailed presentation of different tourist spaces in the capital and its region, including the definition of a ‘Central tourist district’. Some earlier themes are re-examined in the context of the Paris region such as the attraction of its shops or the controversy surrounding rental platforms such as Airbnb. There follows a case study of Nice, the “French city most associated with tourism”. After tracing the development of the tourist function and demonstrating how the city changed from a winter to summer destination, the authors explain how Nice has acquired a metropolitan status, a process in which the creation of a university in 1965 symbolises this transformation emphasising the link already established between university populations and tourism. Other tourist centres are reviewed (such as Nantes, Toulouse, Lille and Avignon), with their selection for study based on an index derived from the Michelin Guides’ star system. Port cities feature again in this chapter viewed in relation to their reconversion from transport and industrial sites to service and tourist economies. La Rochelle is used to illustrate this theme. After presenting rural zones with a strong tourist function (for example Dordogne, Ardèche, Lubéron), the chapter ends with a review of regions with relatively little urban development and only a minor tourist function as in parts of the northern half of France.

The second part of this volume is devoted to tourism in France’s overseas territories. In introduction, Chapter 3, attention is drawn to the relatively small size of these territories (2.8 million inhabitants), their diverse character, the general absence of links between them and the substantial distance that separates them from mainland France. Once again, the authors lament the absence of a reliable and recent official statistical base with which to help evaluate the tourist sector. The origins of tourism in these territories is considered in chapter 4. The diversity of situations (as previously indicated) applies equally to ways in which tourism developed – an early growth of tourism in French Polynesia (where the idea of holidays based around the 3S first emerged), the development during the colonial period of health cures in La Réunion and Guadaloupe, and the difficulties of establishing a tourist industry in Guadaloupe and Martinique in the face of American and British interests in the Caribbean. Airline companies opened up these territories to tourism and contributed to the building of certain infrastructures such as hotels, as was the case of Air France. Tax incentives have long been widely used to encourage investments in tourism and in the late 1960s the French government set up similar tourist development corporations to those established in France in Languedoc-Roussillon and Aquitaine. From this period certain up-market tourist destinations also developed, as in the case of the island of Saint- Barthélemy.

Chapter 5 is about the secondary nature of tourist destinations. It starts with the assessment that in general tourism is relatively unimportant in these territories, contributing only a relatively modest proportion of GDP, illustrating that French destinations have lagged behind other Caribbean and Pacific destinations – in 2018 French Polynesia attracted 236000 visitors while Hawaii had over 2.4 million tourists and the same is true of La Réunion compared with Ile Maurice. Foreign tourists are largely absent, with the exception of the French, and the tourist industry often relies heavily on domestic tourism. In contrast the authors indicate that the mild winter climate is attractive for French tourists in areas such as the Caribbean and French Caledonia although natural hazards, including cyclones and volcanic eruptions, or problems of violence and insecurity are deterrents to tourism in certain localities. The reasons for this relatively modest development of tourism are analysed further in chapter 6, entitled ‘The fundamental role of links with mainland France’. The authors argue that the economic model which applies to these territories does not generally favour innovation or the search for competitiveness. It is based on a high level of subsidies but with few incentives for accepting tourist jobs. French civil servants working in these territories receive generous salaries and allowances, helping to fuel inflation which has made tourism a relatively high-cost activity and uncompetitive in international markets. To illustrate the difference between these territories and rival destinations, attention is drawn to the large number of flights from Ile Maurice to European, South African, Asian and Australian destinations compared with the modest number of flights to and from La reunion. Overall there is negative balance of payments for tourism. Tourists from the overseas territories spend more abroad than tourists to these destinations. Highly subsidised economies and inertia explain many of the problems of the tourist industry. In chapter 7 different tourist locations are studied. While it has been made clear that globally tourist development is relatively modest compared with other Caribbean or Pacific destinations, these territories are also characterised by a number of tourist ‘hot spots’ based on exclusive niche markets -Bora Bora, Saint Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, for example. Saint Barthélemy is a small attractive island with varied topography, offering sandy beaches as well a range of up-market tourist attractions - high quality accommodation and shopping and excellent food. It is yet another example of the effectiveness of the 3S.

A brief, fictional conclusion follows looking at what tourism might resemble in the mid-2030s with the government controlling more and more mobilities in favour of the less developed tourist regions. Why might this happen? Because, as this book has shown, tourism creates and accentuates imbalances between regions!

These two volumes offer a comprehensive and well-written analysis of French tourism. While some of the detail is already relatively well-known, this panoramic view has much to recommend it. The quality of the analysis is excellent, as might be expected from these authors, with a keen eye for detail, a strong emphasis on spatial analysis and the use of numerous well-chosen examples and case studies, accompanied by a wide range of maps and tables. It is up-to-date including several references to the Covid 19-pandemic and its consequences, despite being written during the crisis. Rich bibliographies are provided at the end of each volume, although in the case of the first volume it is a little surprising to find virtually no non-French texts; the views of outsiders can often be illuminating. The books also have another interesting and pertinent feature. Interestingly, the authors offer a strong defence of tourism and its importance to French society and to its economy. They criticise at various points the lack of adequate government data and stress the need to rectify this situation. At the same time, they bemoan the attitudes of French governments and elites that fail to see tourism as a serious subject, underestimating considerably its many positive impacts and its importance as a territorial planning tool.

Relatively few major criticisms might be formulated. It is perhaps odd that the impacts of e-tourism and m-tourism are not discussed, particularly in view of the importance of mobile devices to provide information for tourists, to help analyse tourist’ spatial behaviour and particularly to assist tourists in the organisation and reservation of the holidays. Institutional actors are discussed in some detail but this is less true for tourist enterprises. While various examples of essentially multinational groups are used, there is no detailed analysis of their spatial and developmental strategies affecting both France and foreign countries. Similarly, in view of the controversy surrounding their activities, an analysis of Airbnb’s business and spatial strategy in France might be considered appropriate. Also, the strategies of the many small businesses working in tourism, as well as the emergence of many innovative start-ups in the sector, further mitigates for a chapter on devoted to tourism enterprises; as the authors themselves indicate in chapter 6 tourism has become an increasingly capitalist activity. Certain organisational aspects of the two volumes might also be questioned. For example, is it logical to group together in the section entitled ‘les pleins’, rural areas with little or no population or tourist activities?

It is however easy to quibble. These last points should not detract from the excellent overall quality of this text offering an authoritative analysis and a highly readable account of contemporary tourism in France.