According to a recent study, a little over half of the French population (51%) first look at an establishment’s website, and 41% book through online booking agencies. Traditional agencies’ sales represent 10%.

When the French wish to book their accommodation, 51% of them first look at the website of the hotel they wish to stay at. Those who use online booking platforms represent 41%, and those who book directly through the phone, 39%.

Only 10% of the population turns to a traditional travel agency, and 2% book through an application on their mobile phones. “Everything we’ve been hearing about in terms of online booking agencies since June does not seem to reflect reality, we wanted to escape this political debate and that’s why we wished for and had consumers and hotelkeepers express themselves on the matter”, explained Olivier Bisserier, the financial director of Booking.com.

Some 87% of French people state that they know of at least one online booking site. Voyages-sncf.com is the best known site (71%), and Booking.com, the least (44%). But for Mr. Bisserier, “this is very good news as it signifies that there is huge room for progress”.

For 71% of the French and 88% of hotelkeepers, online booking sites are perceived as occupying a central role in today’s tourism industry in France. 83% of the French and 91% of hotelkeepers believe that these platforms allow the growth of hotel establishments’ visibility, particularly for a foreign clientele. From an economic perspective, 69% of the French believe that these sites are indispensable to economically support this sector in France, a view shared by only 56% of hotelkeepers. A vast majority (81%) of the hotelkeepers surveyed, declared that they were registered on at least one online booking site.