The 2026 edition did not deviate from the rule.
Serge Papin highlighted the solid performance of foreign clientele, which generated revenues amounting to 49.5 billion euros between January and the end of July 2026, i.e. +3.7% compared to 2025.
A whole list of outbound markets in growth followed. But the fog remains regarding the French, because indicators would be weak and more trending downward, according to our information.
Among the statistics unveiled: the rate at which French people depart within France in the heart of summer, in July–August, fell by 5 points to 59%, and 84% of French vacationers did so domestically.
“We have 60 % of the French going on vacation each year. This rate has remained the same for decades. And the 40 % of French who do not travel is a remarkably stable figure.
In the past, SOFRES conducted fairly valuable surveys on tourism topics, but this theme is almost abandoned today.
Then all surveys are now conducted online, except one stubborn one: Guy Raffour. His firm and its 16 investigators do Benedictine-like work. They even, for the first time, shed light on those French people who do not go on vacation“, explains Jean-Michel Blanc, former director of vacations at the Caisse centrale d’activités sociales.
22 million French people did not go on vacation
And how does this change things compared to ticking boxes on a website?
“The 16 interviewers call by telephone and compile 400 hours of interviews.
This methodology changes a lot, especially when focusing on non-participants, because the characteristics that keep them from traveling are the same ones that cause them not to appear in online panels.
They are more distant from the Internet, from technological tools, from large cities and are also less mobile
These are also people whom one must win over, so they open up about the reasons they do not go on vacation. They feel marginal, especially due to the social pressure surrounding holidays.
Read: Tourism in France: a 2026 summer marked by contrasts between international clientele and French choices
The telephone interview therefore holds particular importance.
“It is a central subject, because going on vacation has become an essential need.
Thus, in 2025, 61% of French people aged 15 and over in mainland France went on vacation. Those who took long non-commercial stays accounted for 37%. Long commercial stays accounted for 41%.
From this total, subtract 17%, as these are the people who undertake both types of stays. We adopt the UNWTO definition of vacations, i.e., four consecutive nights away from the habitual residence.
We exclude trips for concerts, festivals or events, unless they included an extension before or after.
In 2025, there were 39% non-participants. This represents 22 million French people. The reasons are very varied“, analyses Raffour.
Non-participants: mainly elderly people and residents of small towns
Still according to the survey, the average monthly income before tax for a household that traveled was €3,750, versus €2,315 for a household that did not travel.
The difference stands at €1,445.
“A second important characteristic is an 11-year age gap between non-participants and those who travel, the latter being younger.
If those aged 25–50 have the highest departure rate, those aged 65 and over have the highest non-departure rate, at 60%, ahead of the 15–24 and 50–64 groups, each at 35%.
Moreover, the more people there are in a household, the higher the departure rate.“, Raffour reveals.
A social determinism: “workers travel much less than employees”
Contrary to what one might expect, the highest non-departure rate is among retirees, at 58%. They follow by workers at 44%, farmers at 41%, employees at 36%, and traders at 35%.
The departure rate is 81% for intermediate professions.
“The primary reason people say they didn’t travel is simply insufficient income, so financial constraints take precedence. Then, given international instability and the national context, the French prefer to save.
There is also a difficulty in spotting travel assistance. They exist, but part of the population cannot access them. Social organizations must talk about vacations“, explains Raffour.
Moreover, with the upgrading of the French tourism industry, some respondents noted a lack of entry-level offers.
There are also professional constraints, especially for job seekers, those who change employers, but also precarious workers.
To this, add all those who have trouble being replaced, such as farmers, doctors, firefighters, etc. There is also a social determinism that blocks vacation departure.
“When one has not had the capacity to travel with family or friends, it leads to social reproduction, as Bourdieu stated.
And this is true to the extent that, even when wages of workers and employees are almost equal, workers travel considerably less than employees.
Many people told us they do not know how to plan and organize their vacations. Illiteracy in digital tools is also a major issue to combat.
Finally, the aging population, which is unlikely to improve, brings health problems and loneliness“, concludes Raffour.
There is therefore no single explanation, and there are many levers to achieve greater social justice, provided one is willing to activate them.
Holidays: an entirely interactive infographic on non-participants in France
Source : Raffour Interactif 2026 Barometer “Short stays, holidays, e-tourism”, 1,000 telephone interviews, quota sampling. Holidays: at least one leisure stay of four nights or more. Revenues, age gaps, gender, Paris region and household size: Guy Raffour on TourMaG.com (22 September 2026).
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For while a few top executives have clearly understood the value of embodying their own brand—such as Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or Richard Branson, and closer to us, Michel-Édouard Leclerc or Marc Simoncini—the examples have remained scarce in our industry… until the Covid pandemic.
