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France wants to boost tourism by developing wine tours in its countryside

Associated Press
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FILE - This May 3, 2010 file photo shows the Vineyards of Chateau Canon, with the medieval commune and monolithic church of St. Emilion in the background, in France. France wants to boost tourism by developing wine and gastronomy tours in its countryside as part of a series of measures that aim at keeping the country’s position as the top destination in the world. French foreign affairs minister Laurent Fabius set Thursday a target of 100 million foreign tourists per year by 2020 _from 84 million now. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This Oct. 14, 2014 file photo shows the Cathedral of Reims in Reims, France. France wants to boost tourism by developing wine and gastronomy tours in its countryside as part of a series of measures that aim at keeping the country’s position as the top destination in the world. French foreign affairs minister Laurent Fabius set Thursday a target of 100 million foreign tourists per year by 2020 _from 84 million now. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This Oct. 7, 2013 file photo shows workers collecting red grapes in the vineyards of the famed Chateau Haut Brion, a Premier Grand Cru des Graves, during the grape harvest season, in Pessac-Leognan, near Bordeaux, southwestern France. France wants to boost tourism by developing wine and gastronomy tours in its countryside as part of a series of measures that aim at keeping the country’s position as the top destination in the world. French foreign affairs minister Laurent Fabius set Thursday a target of 100 million foreign tourists per year by 2020 _from 84 million now. (AP Photo/Bob Edme, File) (The Associated Press)

France wants to boost tourism by developing wine tours in its countryside, part of a series of measures aimed at retaining the country's position as the top destination in the world.

France's foreign affairs minister, Laurent Fabius, set Thursday a target of 100 million foreign tourists per year by 2020, up from 84 million now.

Fabius told a news conference: "Tourism is a national treasure. Wine is an important sector to attract foreign customers in our beautiful wine-growing regions that are still under-visited: Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Languedoc, Rhone, Champagne, etc."

Fabius announced the creation of a state-owned investment fund that would, among other things, help finance tourist facilities in vineyard areas.

Another measure aims to support events promoting France's gastronomy.