La French Expérience: Bringing tourism entrepreneurs together
Unveiled during the 12th edition of Big, the entrepreneurial event organised by Bpifrance, La French Expérience marks a new stage in the French public investment bank’s business support strategy.
Its ambition is to establish a national community bringing together tourism and leisure entrepreneurs, transcending the traditional boundaries between different sectors.
Four main areas of activity are covered: accommodation, foodservice, travel and leisure, alongside Tourism Tech businesses.
The initiative aims to encourage the exchange of experience, entrepreneurial collaboration and the sharing of best practices, particularly in innovation and environmental transition.
For Éric Versey, Executive Director in charge of Financing and the Network at Bpifrance, the initiative reflects the ambition to take a further step in connecting business leaders who are contributing to the transformation of French tourism.
Forty ambassadors to build a network of 1,000 business leaders
La French Expérience is launching with an initial group of 40 ambassadors, selected to support the community’s establishment.
Bpifrance has set a target of bringing together 1,000 actively participating business leaders by 2030.
Several initiatives have been announced to develop the network, including regional meetings, professional events, research publications, entrepreneur testimonials and the sharing of specialist content.
The objective is to create connections between businesses whose economic models may differ considerably but which face several common challenges: recruitment, competitiveness, financing, digitalisation, environmental transition and commercial development.
Within hospitality, this networking approach could be particularly relevant to independent hotel operators, regional hotel groups, restaurant entrepreneurs and technology businesses operating across the tourism value chain.
€12 billion mobilised over five years
The launch of La French Expérience forms part of an already substantial tourism financing strategy.
Bpifrance states that it has supported nearly 60,000 businesses in the sector over the past five years, with a reported overall commitment of €12 billion.
The institution provides a breakdown of several categories of support:
| Support mechanism | Figures reported by Bpifrance |
|---|---|
| Financing | €5 billion granted to more than 6,000 operators |
| Guarantees | €7.1 billion deployed |
| Investments | More than €520 million through Tourism Investment Funds |
| Advisory services | 1,300 assignments involving 885 SMEs and mid-sized companies |
| Businesses supported | Nearly 60,000 over five years |
These figures illustrate the diversity of instruments deployed, ranging from bank financing and equity investment to guarantees and strategic advisory services.
However, they must be interpreted according to their nature: guarantees, financing and investments do not represent directly equivalent financial flows.
Furthermore, the arithmetic total of the three detailed financial categories exceeds the announced €12 billion. The statement does not specify any potential overlaps or differences in scope that would reconcile these amounts.
Financing, energy-efficient refurbishment and artificial intelligence: The stated priorities
Bpifrance has identified several major transformations that tourism businesses will need to address in the coming years.
Environmental transition and energy-efficient refurbishment are two particularly important priorities for hotel operators, which sometimes face substantial investment requirements across their real estate portfolios.
Artificial intelligence and digital transformation are also among the areas receiving support, alongside innovation and development at European level.
These priorities concern both established businesses and emerging tourism technology companies.
For hotels, they translate into concrete investment and operational decisions: financing refurbishment works, modernising facilities, improving productivity, upgrading distribution systems and adapting operating models.
The creation of La French Expérience adds a collective dimension to these financial support mechanisms, based on knowledge-sharing and exchanges between business leaders.
LTH Analysis | From business financing to the development of a tourism ecosystem
With La French Expérience, Bpifrance is seeking to move beyond its traditional role as a financier and strengthen its position as a facilitator of the French tourism ecosystem. The initiative is particularly relevant in a historically fragmented sector, where major groups, independent operators, family businesses, investors and technology companies coexist.
For the hotel industry, the central issue remains the relationship between financing the real estate asset and financing the operating business. Investment requirements associated with energy-efficient refurbishment, upgrading properties or transforming hotel facilities do not always follow the same financial logic as working capital needs, digitalisation or commercial development.
Bpifrance’s ability to mobilise guarantees, loans, equity capital and advisory services simultaneously therefore represents a potentially significant advantage. However, creating a community will deliver genuine added value only if it facilitates access to these instruments, encourages practical collaboration and helps generate economically viable projects.
Beyond the target of 1,000 business leaders by 2030, the most meaningful measure of success will be La French Expérience’s ability to turn exchanges between entrepreneurs into investment, innovation and new economic activity across France’s regions.
At a Glance
Initiative: La French Expérience, launched by Bpifrance during Big 2026.
Purpose: A national community connecting tourism, hospitality, leisure and Tourism Tech entrepreneurs.
Initial network: 40 ambassadors, with a target of 1,000 participating business leaders by 2030.
Financial commitment: Bpifrance reports €12 billion mobilised and nearly 60,000 tourism businesses supported over five years.
Key priorities: Sustainable tourism, energy-efficient refurbishment, artificial intelligence, innovation and European development.
Strategic perspective: Combining financial support with entrepreneurial networking and cross-sector collaboration.
