Insee Focus · October 2023 · n° 310

Which French people travel?

In 2022, four out of five adults travelled for personal reasons. Lack of money was the main barrier to travel, but many people said they preferred to stay at home or were prevented to travel by health, work or family constraints.

A manager spent an average of 26 nights on personal trips in 2022, compared with 15 for a white-collar worker and 11 for a blue-collar worker. A third of the nights spent travelling took place during the summer season. White and blue-collar workers particularly favoured this period, while executives split up their holidays a little more. Retired people travelled less during the summer months, when they spent a quarter of their nights away from home.

On average, men spent nearly twice as many nights away from home on business trips as women, while men and women travelled equally for personal reasons.