The Gîtes de France associative network has paid more than 15 million euros to French municipalities as tourist tax, via its some 70,000 labeled accommodations located mainly in rural areas, according to a statement on Monday.
"The collection of the tourist tax benefits each year the communities which use it to restore the heritage, set up new local initiatives and encourage vacationers to visit the territory", highlights Sylvie Pellegrin, president of the National Federation Gîtes de France, which speaks of "a virtuous exchange".
A business volume of 1.1 billion euros per year
Launched in 1955, the network has some 70% of lodges, guest rooms or chalets labeled in France, of which more than 80% are located in rural areas, the rest of the offer being located in the city. "In 2019, more than 15 million euros collected through the tourist tax were paid by Gîtes de France to French municipalities," says the network.
He specifies that his activity represents a "direct and indirect" business volume of nearly 1.1 billion euros each year, and affirms that "more than 31,700 direct, indirect and induced jobs have been created".
Gîtes de France also indicates that it pays each year 478 million euros for the benefit of the State, local authorities and social organizations. For its part, the Airbnb platform, which is starting to develop its offer in rural areas, said it had paid in 2019 some 58 million euros of tourist tax on tourist rentals, in a total of 28,000 cities.
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