The number of foreign tourists to France fell from by about two million last year but it remained the world's most popular destination with 82.5 million people visiting, the Foreign Affairs Ministry announced on Friday, reports RFI.
Between 82.5 million and 83 million foreigners came to France in 2016, a fall of 1.3 percent from 2015's record of 85 million.
The November 2015 Paris attacks, Nice's Bastille Day massacre, freak floods in the summer and strikes against a controversial labour reform are all believed to have hit the tourism trade, which is a mainstay of the French economy.
"France has suffered as a destination," foreign fffairs minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told a press conference in the south-western town of Biarritz. "2016 was an exceptional year, with attacks, storms and strikes. There was a definite impact, especially on Japanese tourists."
Hotel bookings fell 5.7 percent in 2016, with Paris and the Côte d'Azur worst hit.
But they recovered in the last quarter, rising 3.9 percent, mainly because of French customers.