After a first assessment at the end of 2025, the Destination France Tourism Commission of Medef, chaired by Aurore Iwanciw (Le Château Fort Hotel in Sedan) and Philippe Korcia (Voyages Eurafrique), is taking action.
On September 14, 2026, it handed to Serge Papin, minister of SMEs, Trade, Crafts, Tourism and Purchasing Power, a study containing 14 proposals to simplify the regulatory framework and remove barriers to the development of tourism.
Six of these measures are already “ready to process,” according to the report, three of which concern mountain resorts.
The other eight, dubbed “framework measures,” do not call for legislative reform, but “assume prior work before producing their effects: precise identification of texts, harmonization of administrative practices, coordination between several ministries, or, when the legal framework is already complete, operational implementation and execution timeline,” the document specifies.
Indeed, the Medef commission has prioritized short-term actionable regulatory and administrative levers (simplifying procedures, removing outdated formalities, or clarifying certain administrative rules) in order to achieve tangible progress for tourism businesses, while the parliamentary agenda remains crowded up to the presidential election, closing the legislative path for the coming months.
On September 14, 2026, it handed to Serge Papin, minister of SMEs, Trade, Crafts, Tourism and Purchasing Power, a study containing 14 proposals to simplify the regulatory framework and remove barriers to the development of tourism.
Six of these measures are already “ready to process,” according to the report, three of which concern mountain resorts.
The other eight, dubbed “framework measures,” do not call for legislative reform, but “assume prior work before producing their effects: precise identification of texts, harmonization of administrative practices, coordination between several ministries, or, when the legal framework is already complete, operational implementation and execution timeline,” the document specifies.
Indeed, the Medef commission has prioritized short-term actionable regulatory and administrative levers (simplifying procedures, removing outdated formalities, or clarifying certain administrative rules) in order to achieve tangible progress for tourism businesses, while the parliamentary agenda remains crowded up to the presidential election, closing the legislative path for the coming months.
Better framing of the travel planners’ status
Among these 14 proposals, one concerns distribution, and more specifically the status of travel planners.
“They present themselves as mere advisory service providers, which allows them to operate outside the scope of the Tourism Code. However, some receive retrocommissions or concretely steer reservation choices, which functionally brings them close to a tourism intermediation activity“, describes the MEDEF Tourism Commission in its study.
For the latter, this situation creates a “distortion of competition, these actors escaping the obligations borne by traditional agencies (financial guarantees, liability, etc.), while offering similar services“; as well as a “risk for the consumer,” in the absence of a clear framework defining responsibilities in case of problems.
The Medef thus calls for a clarification, by administrative and regulatory means, of the status of “travel planners” by specifying the criteria that distinguish a simple advisory activity (outside the Tourism Code) from an intermediation or travel organization activity, thereby triggering the corresponding obligations (registration, guarantees, etc.).
“This clarification could take the form of a shared administrative doctrine (tourism / consumer), and, where appropriate, an adaptation of implementing texts to restore conditions of fair competition and consumer guarantees“.
“They present themselves as mere advisory service providers, which allows them to operate outside the scope of the Tourism Code. However, some receive retrocommissions or concretely steer reservation choices, which functionally brings them close to a tourism intermediation activity“, describes the MEDEF Tourism Commission in its study.
For the latter, this situation creates a “distortion of competition, these actors escaping the obligations borne by traditional agencies (financial guarantees, liability, etc.), while offering similar services“; as well as a “risk for the consumer,” in the absence of a clear framework defining responsibilities in case of problems.
The Medef thus calls for a clarification, by administrative and regulatory means, of the status of “travel planners” by specifying the criteria that distinguish a simple advisory activity (outside the Tourism Code) from an intermediation or travel organization activity, thereby triggering the corresponding obligations (registration, guarantees, etc.).
“This clarification could take the form of a shared administrative doctrine (tourism / consumer), and, where appropriate, an adaptation of implementing texts to restore conditions of fair competition and consumer guarantees“.
Business travel also addressed
Two proposals also concern business travel.
The first — which also applies to events — calls for a simplification of the regulation of commercial events, which requires park managers to declare hosted events, and organizers to produce, certify by an accredited body (COFRAC), and transmit detailed numerical data.
“This quantified burden […] was intended to feed a public portal managed by the DGE“, the study explains. But, “since 2022, the DGE has stopped publishing these data online, although it was provided for by the Commercial Code. The regulatory obligations to collect and electronically declare therefore remain in force without their intended purpose being achieved“.
For Medef, “this situation creates unnecessary legal uncertainty for sector players while maintaining an administrative burden without real compensation“, estimated by industry professionals at “nearly one million euros per year, including certification costs and the administrative time mobilized by organizers and site managers“.
The tourism commission therefore requests the repeal or regulatory relief, through (art. R.762-10 to R.762-12 and A.762-3 to A.762-9 of the Commercial Code) the obligations to produce, certify, and transmit the quantified data borne by organizers and park managers.
In addition, it requests, in another proposal, a “better mobilization of the circulation visas for business travelers“, while the community visa code provides the possibility of issuing short-stay visas to third-country nationals wishing to stay within the Schengen area for up to 90 days in 180 days with multiple entries.
“In practice, their issuance remains uneven depending on profiles and consular posts, including for regular business travelers who frequently come to France for trade shows, conferences, or professional meetings“, notes the commission.
It adds: “The repetition of visa application procedures for identified profiles — even though they pose a low risk of illegal immigration or for the security of Member States — constitutes an administrative burden that is unnecessary and detrimental to travelers and the companies that host them“.
Believing that it harms France’s attractiveness for business tourism and major professional events in a context of intensified international competition, the tourism commission calls for, without modifying the Schengen framework, “to encourage, by consular instruction, a more systematic issue of multi-entry circulation visas for regular business travelers with an established profile (for example, thanks to travel history, invitation from an accredited organizer, participation in recurring events)“.
This measure, aligned with a compliant application of the Community Visa Code, falls under the purview of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, in coordination with the ministry responsible for Tourism
The first — which also applies to events — calls for a simplification of the regulation of commercial events, which requires park managers to declare hosted events, and organizers to produce, certify by an accredited body (COFRAC), and transmit detailed numerical data.
“This quantified burden […] was intended to feed a public portal managed by the DGE“, the study explains. But, “since 2022, the DGE has stopped publishing these data online, although it was provided for by the Commercial Code. The regulatory obligations to collect and electronically declare therefore remain in force without their intended purpose being achieved“.
For Medef, “this situation creates unnecessary legal uncertainty for sector players while maintaining an administrative burden without real compensation“, estimated by industry professionals at “nearly one million euros per year, including certification costs and the administrative time mobilized by organizers and site managers“.
The tourism commission therefore requests the repeal or regulatory relief, through (art. R.762-10 to R.762-12 and A.762-3 to A.762-9 of the Commercial Code) the obligations to produce, certify, and transmit the quantified data borne by organizers and park managers.
In addition, it requests, in another proposal, a “better mobilization of the circulation visas for business travelers“, while the community visa code provides the possibility of issuing short-stay visas to third-country nationals wishing to stay within the Schengen area for up to 90 days in 180 days with multiple entries.
“In practice, their issuance remains uneven depending on profiles and consular posts, including for regular business travelers who frequently come to France for trade shows, conferences, or professional meetings“, notes the commission.
It adds: “The repetition of visa application procedures for identified profiles — even though they pose a low risk of illegal immigration or for the security of Member States — constitutes an administrative burden that is unnecessary and detrimental to travelers and the companies that host them“.
Believing that it harms France’s attractiveness for business tourism and major professional events in a context of intensified international competition, the tourism commission calls for, without modifying the Schengen framework, “to encourage, by consular instruction, a more systematic issue of multi-entry circulation visas for regular business travelers with an established profile (for example, thanks to travel history, invitation from an accredited organizer, participation in recurring events)“.
This measure, aligned with a compliant application of the Community Visa Code, falls under the purview of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, in coordination with the ministry responsible for Tourism
Airports: remove document checks at boarding
A fourth measure concerns the airline sector, and targets more specifically the documentary check at boarding, defined by the February 5, 2013 order which requires airlines operating from French airports to verify the concordance between the boarding pass and an identity document at boarding.
“This verification is not airport security screening in itself but a documentary reconciliation procedure intended to check the match between the passenger and their travel document.
It mobilizes dedicated human resources and lengthens boarding operations even though several European states have removed this obligation for intra-Schengen flights, notably Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Nordic countries, or Italy“, notes the report.
The commission therefore calls for the repeal of the order for domestic and intra-Schengen flights departing from French hubs.
“This verification is not airport security screening in itself but a documentary reconciliation procedure intended to check the match between the passenger and their travel document.
It mobilizes dedicated human resources and lengthens boarding operations even though several European states have removed this obligation for intra-Schengen flights, notably Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Nordic countries, or Italy“, notes the report.
The commission therefore calls for the repeal of the order for domestic and intra-Schengen flights departing from French hubs.
Tourist rentals: the national registration system still not activated
Finally, note a fifth measure regarding the November 19, 2024 law, known as Échaniz-Le Meur, which obliges the national registration of tourist accommodations through a single online service.
If the obligation has been legally in force since May 20, 2026, in practice, “the deployment of the national online service has been postponed to the fourth quarter of 2026, with no firm date announced“, the report emphasizes.
Until Declaloc is open to all landlords, platforms (Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo) neither block nor remove listings lacking an registration number, and declarations continue to pass through the existing municipal online services.
This delay defeats the purpose: registration remains theoretical, and the distortion of competition that the law was meant to correct persists as long as listing blocking is not activated“.
The Medef therefore calls for a firm opening schedule of the national online service by the Ministry responsible for Tourism, in coordination with the DGE, and the effective activation on that date of the platform blocking and removal mechanism for listings without a registration number.
If the obligation has been legally in force since May 20, 2026, in practice, “the deployment of the national online service has been postponed to the fourth quarter of 2026, with no firm date announced“, the report emphasizes.
Until Declaloc is open to all landlords, platforms (Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo) neither block nor remove listings lacking an registration number, and declarations continue to pass through the existing municipal online services.
This delay defeats the purpose: registration remains theoretical, and the distortion of competition that the law was meant to correct persists as long as listing blocking is not activated“.
The Medef therefore calls for a firm opening schedule of the national online service by the Ministry responsible for Tourism, in coordination with the DGE, and the effective activation on that date of the platform blocking and removal mechanism for listings without a registration number.
Publié par Paula Boyer 
