Morocco Tops French Winter Holiday Destinations, Outpacing Tunisia and Egypt

North Africa and the Middle East remain the choice of the French for medium-haul destinations (less than three hours from France) during the holidays, according to the annual barometer of the Syndicat des entreprises du tour-operating (SETO).

Morocco is their top preferred destination in North Africa with 11,616 bookings, followed by the Canary Islands in Spain (10,016), Finland (8,643), Egypt (6,133) and Tunisia (3,817). The United Arab Emirates (3,014) are in 6th place, with a strong increase of more than 48% compared to 2018. Italy, on the other hand, is less interesting for the French (2,127), with a regression of -46% over one year.

As for long-haul destinations, the Dominican Republic is in first place in the ranking with 19,081 bookings, which represents an increase of 10% compared to 2018. Mauritius and the West Indies will follow with 14,445 and 13,328 bookings respectively for the winter. Mexico is down 18% due to health risks, and is in 4th place with 7,621 bookings.

Thailand, Cuba and Senegal are doing better with 6,854, 6,298 and 5,927 bookings respectively. The United States (5,052), India (4,563) and the Maldives (4,438) complete the list.