In 2025, 78% of French people aged 15 or over spent at least one night away from home for personal reasons, according to Insee, France’s national statistics office. The remaining 22%, or 11.6 million people, did not go away at all. Those who do travel mostly stay in France; abroad, Spain and Italy dominate, and the hotel becomes the norm.
- 🧳 Who travels · 78% of those aged 15 or over spent at least one night away from home in 2025 (Insee), down from 85% in 2023.
- 🏠 Who stays · 22%, or 11.6 million people, did not go away at all.
- 🇫🇷 Where · 85% of personal trips are taken in France; 29% of those aged 15 or over made at least one trip abroad.
- 🌍 Abroad · Spain (5.8 million trips), Italy (4.0), then Belgium, the United Kingdom and Portugal (1.7 each), among the countries published by Eurostat.
- 🏨 Hotels · 16.8% of nights, or one in six; 61% of holiday and leisure trips abroad, against 21% in France.
- 💶 The gap · 43% stay at home when monthly household income is below 1,500 euros, 12% above 3,800 euros.
Contents
11.6 million French people stayed at home
Insee takes a broad view of going away: at least one night away from home for personal reasons, in France or abroad, among residents of mainland France aged 15 or over. On that basis, 78% travelled in 2025, after 85% in 2023 and 81% in 2024: a second fall in a row.
Eurostat, which draws on the same Insee survey, also uses a threshold of four nights or more, closer to the idea of a real holiday. On that measure, 61.9% went away in 2025 (32.8 million people), against 67.1% in 2023.
One night or four: three figures, three rules
Three figures are in circulation, and they cannot be compared with one another. Crédoc, working for the holiday voucher agency ANCV, counts as a holiday at least four consecutive nights, among 15 to 69-year-olds only, over the previous twelve months: 63% had gone away, according to the survey carried out in October and November 2025. That is neither the calendar year nor the same age range as Insee.
| Source | What is counted | Scope | 2025 result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insee (SDT survey) | At least 1 night away from home, personal reasons, over the year | Aged 15 or over, mainland France | 78% (22% stayed at home, 11.6 million) |
| Eurostat (same survey) | At least 1 night, personal reasons | Aged 15 or over | 78.0% (41.3 million) |
| Eurostat (same survey) | At least one trip of 4 nights or more | Aged 15 or over | 61.9% (32.8 million) |
| Crédoc for the ANCV | At least 4 consecutive nights, last 12 months | Aged 15 to 69, October to November 2025 survey | 63% |
| Year | Insee, at least 1 night | Eurostat, 4 nights or more |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 82% | 62.6% |
| 2023 | 85% | 67.1% |
| 2024 | 81% | 64.2% |
| 2025 | 78% | 61.9% |
85% stay in France, Spain leads abroad
Of 201.2 million personal trips in 2025, 171.1 million took place in France, or 85%. Abroad weighs more in nights, because people stay longer: 23% of nights. In France, cities top the list of destinations (32% of trips), ahead of the seaside (23%), the countryside (18%) and the mountains (17%).
Abroad, Spain accounts for 5.8 million trips, ahead of Italy (4.0 million), Belgium, the United Kingdom and Portugal (1.7 million each), then Germany (1.4). This ranking covers the countries Eurostat publishes. For stays of four nights or more, the order changes: Spain, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Greece.
| Rank | Country | Trips 2025 (million) | Share of trips abroad | Of which 4 nights or more (million, rank) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 5.78 | 19.2% | 4.16 (1st) |
| 2 | Italy | 3.95 | 13.1% | 2.94 (2nd) |
| 3 | Belgium | 1.73 | 5.7% | 0.38 (10th) |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 1.69 | 5.6% | 1.03 (4th) |
| 5 | Portugal | 1.67 | 5.5% | 1.36 (3rd) |
| 6 | Germany | 1.42 | 4.7% | 0.50 (8th) |
| 7 | Switzerland | 1.07 | 3.6% | 0.52 (7th) |
| 8 | Greece | 1.05 | 3.5% | 0.99 (5th) |
| 9 | United States | 0.80 | 2.7% | 0.78 (6th) |
| 10 | Netherlands | 0.65 | 2.2% | 0.29 (11th) |
| 11 | Canada | 0.46 | 1.5% | 0.45 (9th) |
| 12 | Poland | 0.32 | 1.1% | 0.27 (12th, low reliability) |
Abroad, six holidays in ten at a hotel
Out of 1,020.6 million personal nights in total, hotels account for only 16.8%, one in six. Family and friends host 37.9%, rentals, gîtes and guesthouses 17.3%. The hotel is the main accommodation for 18.3% of trips.
For holiday and leisure trips alone, excluding visits to family or friends, everything changes. Abroad, 61% are spent in a hotel, against 21% in France, where rentals (26%) come first. A stable gap: 59% against 20% in 2019. Across Europe, Spain leads by far for hotel nights booked by foreign tourists.
| Accommodation | Share of personal nights 2025 | Nights (million) |
|---|---|---|
| Family, friends | 37.9% | 386.6 |
| Rental, gîte, guesthouse | 17.3% | 176.9 |
| Hotel | 16.8% | 171.3 |
| Household’s second home | 13.2% | 134.9 |
| Camping | 6.9% | 70.8 |
| Other paid accommodation | 5.6% | 57.6 |
| Other free accommodation | 2.2% | 22.5 |
| Total | 100% | 1,020.6 |
| Main accommodation, holiday and leisure trips 2025 | In France | Abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel | 21.2% | 60.5% |
| Flat or house rental | 25.6% | 21.3% |
| Camping | 11.3% | 2.2% |
| Family, friends (free) | 15.6% | 4.7% |
| Second home | 15.6% | 2.3% |
| Other | 10.7% | 9.0% |
Income and age: who stays at home?
According to Insee, 43% of people living on less than 1,500 euros a month per household do not go away, against 12% above 3,800 euros. Eurostat notes that 44.8% of non-travellers cite financial reasons; Crédoc puts the figure at 70% among 15 to 69-year-olds who did not take a holiday.
Age plays a part too, in a U shape: 26% of 15 to 24-year-olds and 27% of those aged 70 or over did not go away in 2025, against 19% of 35 to 54-year-olds.
| Age | Did not go away in 2025 (no night, personal reasons) |
|---|---|
| 15-24 | 26% |
| 25-34 | 21% |
| 35-44 | 19% |
| 45-54 | 19% |
| 55-69 | 22% |
| 70 or over | 27% |
| All | 22% |
What it means for your holidays
Faced with a headline claiming “X% of French people go on holiday”, check the rule being used first: one night, four nights, which age group. Between 62% and 78%, only the threshold changes.
In France, people mostly stay in rentals or with relatives; the hotel takes over once the border is crossed. Our analysis of summer 2026 shows where hotel nights are concentrated; our selection for the All Saints’ holidays brings together addresses in France.
Our method and sources
Insee and Eurostat rely on the same survey, the Suivi de la demande touristique: their rates have matched, after rounding, since 2023. The survey has now ended, and 2025 is its final edition. Following the 2020 change of method and the new questionnaires of 2023 and 2024, we avoid comparing levels before 2022, except for accommodation shares.
Eurostat only details a closed list of countries: Morocco and Tunisia are merged into “other African countries”, which totals 3.0 million trips. Shares are our own calculations from the published figures. Data accessed on 24 October 2026.
- Insee, L’essentiel sur le tourisme (29 September 2026)
- Insee, departure rate, series 010761990
- Insee, trips by main accommodation
- Eurostat, tour_dem_totot (departure rate)
- Eurostat, tour_dem_tttot and tour_dem_tntot (France and abroad)
- Eurostat, tour_dem_tthd (type of destination)
- Eurostat, tour_dem_ttw (countries)
- Eurostat, tour_dem_ttac (accommodation)
- Eurostat, tour_dem_npinc (reasons for not travelling)
- Crédoc for the ANCV, Consommation et modes de vie no. 357 (June 2026)
