French tourist board Atout France will team up with 13 regional French counterparts to promote the country to travellers across Europe, including the UK.
The tourist boards are also working with private sector partners on the multimillion-euro campaign, which will be seen largely online, in 10 markets: the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Austria.
Launching in May, the campaign rollout will vary from market to market based on whether travel can resume both to and from the countries in question.
Tourists travelling from the European Union have been able to enter France from May 3, provided they can provide a negative PCR test.
It remains on the UK’s amber list of destinations so UK travellers returning from France are subject to up to 10 days of self-isolation, as well as additional PCR tests.
It is hoped that British and foreign tourists with a health pass – either offering proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test – will be allowed to visit France again from June 9.
Using the slogan ‘#ExploreFrance What Really Matters’, the initiative aims to position France as the ideal destination for European tourists who represented more than 75% of international visitors before the Covid crisis.
International arrivals in France fell by 74% last year compared to 2019 – a decline of one billion.
The campaign will showcase slow tourism, the great outdoors, culture and heritage, and lifestyle, with a sustainability theme throughout.
Its primary target audiences will be families, millennials and couples without children.
A total of €10 million will be invested in 2021 by the French state via Atout France, as well as by the regional tourist boards and other businesses in the sector.