France is the most visited country in the world. Here’s why

You might think a large country like the United States is the most visited in the world, but you’d be wrong — France takes that honor.

About 90 million international visitors traveled there in 2019, and tourism makes up 8% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the French ministry of foreign affairs. As with other countries, tourist numbers plunged during the coronavirus pandemic and revenue from visitors to France was cut in half over the first seven months of 2020.

Like the United States, France has mountains, wineries, famous sights and dramatic coastlines in abundance, with a wine-making heritage thought to be thousands of years old. (Spain ranks second for tourist numbers, with 83.5 million in 2019, followed by the United States, with 79.3 million, according to the World Tourism Organization).

On top of that, France is easily accessible from neighboring European countries, is relatively small and has a certain “je ne sais quoi” — something that you can’t quite put your finger on — those who know the country well told CNBC.

In the Urville region, an area where vines were first planted around 2,000 years ago in Roman times, sits a vineyard and business that spans eight generations.

Charline Drappier, who works alongside her grandfather, parents and two brothers running the family’s Champagne Drappier label, said the vineyard is especially popular with visitors from the U.S., Italy, Belgium, the U.K. and Germany. She adds that people are drawn to France for its variety.

“You can travel in quite a small patch of the world and the diversity … will be cultural or just natural,” she told CNBC by phone. “Everyone finds something that they want to discover about France … in the history, in obviously the Alps, the beach, the complete wilderness, and also lot of a cultural [interests].”

France is one of the most popular destinations for clients of Virtuoso, a network of travel agents and experts, according to its Vice President Misty Belles, who is based in Washington D.C. “Accessibility certainly factors in, but there are many European countries with good airlift and rail service,” she told CNBC by email.

“People are drawn to France for the exquisite cuisine, culture, pure beauty of the country and, ultimately, the way they feel when there. There is a certain romance to France,” she added. Like Drappier, Belles says France’s variety is part of its appeal, and the country is more easily traveled than others: “Given the size of the country, it’s easily navigated … without traveling vast distances as you do within the U.S.”

Paris is a personal highlight for Belles, who has been to France more than 20 times. “I reach a point when I’m away too long where my soul misses Paris,” she said.