This European country has retained its title as the world’s most visited place

From the rolling fields of lavender in Provence to the sandy expanses of Normandy, and the ski resorts which pepper the Alps to the sprawling streets of Paris, France is a glorious travel destination. 

It’s so glorious, in fact, that the country has once again claimed the title of the world’s most visited country, after beating its own 2024 record of 100 million visitors and welcoming a staggering 102 million travellers in 2025. 

If we look at the nitty gritty, all those visitors amounted to 743 million overnight stays in total, which is a 7.5 percent increase on the previous year. It meant tourism revenue was up 9 percent on 2024 and 37 percent on 2019, reaching a whopping €77.5 billion. 

But, what is it about France that means it continually claims this title? Well, according to euronews, the country’s ‘forward-thinking strategy’ when it comes to tourism has enabled the industry to expand while keeping overtourism at bay, and it also benefits from regional and seasonal diversity, meaning destinations enjoy time in the spotlight at different points in the year. 

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What’s more, France is aiming to reach an annual revenue from tourism of €100 million by 2030, but more visitors aren’t necessarily welcome everywhere. 

In the summer of 2025, residents of Montmartre, one of the French capital’s most iconic and visited neighbourhoods, took to protesting the ‘Disneyfication’ of the area, stating that it has been overrun with tuk tuks, tour groups, and short term rental accommodation. 

The neighbourhood’s most popular tourist attraction is Basilica of Sacré-Cœur, which has even overtaken visitor numbers to the Eiffel Tower and now attracts 11 million people per year. 

But it’s not just in Paris that the sentiment towards tourists has become less favourable: France’s tourism minister Olivia Grégoire in 2023 called for better management of visitor flows across France, particularly at famous sites such as Mont Saint Michel. 

Spain followed closely behind France, having welcomed 96.8 million people in 2025, and it even surpassed France’s revenue (and 2030 target) by generating €105 million from tourism.

We reported back in 2024 that it could one day overtake the long-reigning champion, likely becoming the world’s most visited country by 2040, though there’s even stronger discontent towards visitors in Spain, made evident by a huge wave of various tourism restrictions across the country and as series of protests throughout 2025. 

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