French tourism: A new government strategy against "overtourism"

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00 The white cliffs of Etretat in Normandy attract some 1.5 million visitors per year.

00:05 A tourism surge thanks to the hit Netflix detective series "Lupin."

00:10 Now the village sees its population of 1,200 residents increase tenfold,

00:15 with up to 10,000 tourists present per day.

00:18 Overvisiting is accelerating the erosion of the cliffs,

00:22 while often the crowds don't stay long enough for local businesses to benefit.

00:27 "It's complicated to find accommodation, to park and to live in the village.

00:31 In the end it doesn't necessarily help the local economy because people come in the

00:35 morning with their picnic, leave in the afternoon, they leave their rubbish behind and damage it.

00:39 Not to mention the pebbles that disappear because everyone takes their little pebbles with them.

00:43 In summer 400 kilos of pebbles are lost every day."

00:45 A new government plan seeks to cap tourism in the country's most concentrated zones.

00:52 France itself is the world's most popular tourist destination

00:55 and the government says 80% of this activity is concentrated on just 20% of the country.

01:01 The most popular French sites, such as the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey in Normandy,

01:05 say they're being overwhelmed by surging tourist visits.

01:09 Limits are already being set.

01:11 The Calanques National Park near Marseille is maintaining a free reservation system

01:15 brought in during the pandemic for visiting the renowned Sous-Y-Dame coves.

01:19 The site now lets in just 400 people per day in peak season,

01:23 compared with up to 2,500 previously.

01:27 As part of its new plan, the government will now set up an industry monitoring group,

01:31 tasked with crafting strategies for encouraging off-season visits.

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