Tourism officials are afraid that France's status as the world's biggest holiday destination is not translating to its economy with visitor spending trailing behind other European hotspots. France retained its title of the world's most-visited destination in January after welcoming a record 100 million tourists last year. The country's tourism ministry said spending by international holidaymakers had also risen by 12% year-on-year, but a consistent lag behind its European competitors has sparked panic among industry bosses.

Of particular concern is Spain's growing prominence in the global tourism sector - with France's neighbour already outperforming it in terms of visitor revenue and snapping at its heels in the ranking of most-visited countries around the world. "While France is still the world leader in this sector, we are facing fierce competition, particularly from Spain," French Tourism Minister Nathalie Delattre told the French daily Le Figaro. "We need to work to increase the average each visitor spends and get our visitors to stay longer."

The average international tourist spends €650 per day in France, compared to almost €1,000 in Spain, according to the Tourism Review, creating fears that visitors are using the country as a convenient stopping-off point in central Europe and taking the bulk of their economic investment elsewhere.

The problem meant that while France generated €71 billion in tourism receipts last year, it was dwarfed by the Spanish total of €126 billion.

It currently lags behind Spain, America and Japan - with the disparity between visitor footfall and spending linked to the limited cash and time holidaymakers choose to spend there, despite its globally-renowned attractions, including the Eiffel Tower and French Riviera.

"Tourism is among France's major stimulants of economic activity, contributing around 5 to 8% of national GDP and providing jobs for millions," an expert from Travel and Tour World said.

"There is, however, a vast amount of potential that lies untapped. It's calculated that if French per-tourist spend rates could compare with Spain's, there would additionally be €28 billion in revenues."

"A volume-based tourism formula no longer works - the country must focus on [attracting] high-spending visitors for longer periods by diversifying its tourism products, upgrading infrastructure ... [and boosting] accommodation capacity," they added.