Is France no longer the number 1 country for gastronomy?
With 51 days to go until the Olympic Games, France is preparing to welcome millions of visitors. France, renowned for the quality of its gastronomy, has been called into question in this sector by a recent study.
Gastronomy, the jewel in France's cultural crown, seems to be losing its lustre. Even though, for the past three decades, France has been the most visited country in the world, with no fewer than 100 million visitors expected by 2023. Yet, according to 30,000 of these same visitors, France is no longer the benchmark it once was. At least, that's the conclusion offered by a study carried out by Harris Interactive for Atout France, the public tourism development operator. According to the results, Italy and Spain are better references in this respect.
Hospitality and communication at odds
The results of the study do not call into question the quality of France's local produce, or even the quality of the dishes served in many of its restaurants. However, according to Atout France, several points considered to be "criteria of prime importance" are less well respected than in our Latin neighbors. The emphasis is on communication problems, more specifically on the part of tour operators. It would appear that tourists are being misdirected towards tourist breweries. This is a double whammy, as the latter are not always culinary references. In addition to misdirecting customers, French establishments are also criticized for not having an English-language menu. This is a real problem when it comes to understanding the food and wine that are so often the pride of our regions.
With just a month and a half to go before an Olympic period that promises to be eventful and rich in visitors, the time has surely come for French gastronomy to regain its letters of nobility. To do so, we'll have to get our reception and communication with tourists right.
