French holiday bookings fell 5.6% in July compared with the same month last year, according to an industry study published Tuesday by Les Entreprises du Voyage, a body representing about 3,500 travel professionals in France. Despite the drop in departures, average spending per trip rose.
The Observatoire des vacances des Français found that total business volume for the sector fell 4.5% in July, which the study said confirmed "a slowdown in demand compared with 2025." The decline hit every type of traveller: family bookings fell 9.7%, solo travellers 9.4%, couples 9%, and groups of friends 7.5%. Package tours were hit hardest of all, down 16.1%.
Valérie Boned, president of Les Entreprises du Voyage, said the mixed season reflected a turbulent year. She told TF1info that this was not the summer season the industry had hoped for, recalling that last year had been very good before the war in the Middle East brought things to a halt, followed by a series of aftershocks.
France stays on top, Spain climbs
France remained the number one destination for French holidaymakers even as domestic bookings fell 7.2% compared with 2025. Spain moved firmly into second place with bookings up 4.1%, ahead of Greece (down 6.6%), Tunisia (down 3.2%) and Italy (down 8.5%).
Boned said the ranking matched holidaymakers' usual preferences. She said French tourists traditionally favour destinations that are not too far away, with good weather and good value for money. Within France, demand concentrated on clubs, holiday residences, campsites and open-air hotels, which she said allow visitors to keep a controlled budget with services that are often all-inclusive.
Albania's booking surge
The real surprise came from the Balkans. Albania recorded a 288% jump in bookings, propelling it to tenth place in the overall Top 20 of destinations. Boned said Albania combined several qualities that appealed to travellers: it is inexpensive, the weather is good, and it gives the feeling of not travelling too far. She also pointed to easy, direct transport links to the country.
Morocco also continued to grow, with bookings up 6.4%, as did Norway, up 15.8%. By contrast, several traditional summer favourites fell sharply: Turkey dropped 35.3%, Egypt 22.5% and Portugal 20.8%.
US bookings collapse amid Trump-era concerns
The steepest declines came in long-haul travel. Bookings for long-haul trips fell 18.5%, and business volume for those trips dropped 17.6%. The United States was hit hardest of all, with bookings down 39.1% compared with last year, a fall the study linked to concerns over Donald Trump's presidency and high prices. Tanzania (down 23.9%) and Mexico (down 17.9%) followed close behind.
Asia also suffered, the study said, partly because of disruption at travel hubs such as Dubai, which was affected by the war. Some long-haul destinations still gained ground, however: Japan remained popular with French tourists, with bookings up 28.3%, while Canada rose 1.5% and the Dominican Republic 1.3%.
Holiday budgets hold firm
Despite the fall in departures, French travellers are not giving up their holidays altogether. Boned said vacation budgets were being "sanctuarised," meaning that even when money is tight, families still prioritise this spending. The average basket rose 1.2% this year to 2,098 euros, an increase she described as mechanical. She said savings levels have never been so high, and that costs, particularly airfares inflated by rising kerosene prices, have gone up.
What to expect for August
The coming weeks are unlikely to reverse the trend. Ahead of the August departure period, bookings are currently down 9.1% in number, although the average basket is up 1.7%, to 2,289 euros. France is recording its steepest fall for the period, down 12.5%, while Albania continues its rapid rise, up 258%, and Montenegro is growing strongly, up 36.9%.
Boned said late bookers can still find good deals in August, pointing to particularly attractive prices in Spain and Tunisia. French travellers appear to have already taken note, with Mediterranean destinations drawing the bulk of demand: bookings for Monastir in Tunisia are up 22.7%, for Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands up 19.3%, and for the Spanish island of Menorca up 16.3%.
