France’s national tourism agency says Greenland can build a high-value, low-impact tourism model by drawing on French experience in protected sites, island regions, mountain destinations, cruises, food culture, and sustainable destination planning.
Atout France is attending Future Greenland 2026 with a clear message: tourism is becoming a new chapter in France’s wider relationship with Greenland.
In written responses to GreenlandEnergy.com, Corinne Lespinasse-Taraba, Deputy Director for International and National Development at Atout France, said France and its official tourism agency are “fully alongside Greenland” as the country enters a new stage of tourism development.
Atout France framed its role around sharing French experience in tourism planning, visitor-flow management, heritage protection, ecosystem protection, and destination development.
Tourism as a New Chapter in France-Greenland Cooperation
The agency’s interest in Greenland is primarily tied to tourism, especially sustainable tourism. Lespinasse-Taraba described Greenland as a potential “laboratory” for a high-value, low-impact travel model, in line with France’s broader Arctic cooperation on environmental protection.
Atout France is France’s national tourism agency. Its own mission includes promoting France internationally, strengthening destination competitiveness, and helping make France a global reference for sustainable tourism by 2030. The agency also lists tourism engineering as one of its fields of expertise.
High-Value, Low-Impact Tourism
For Greenland, Atout France sees several possible areas of cooperation. These include tourism engineering, destination planning, visitor-flow management, eco-responsible development, experience creation, gastronomy, soft mobility, expedition-cruise optimization, and distinctive accommodation concepts.
The cruise issue is especially important for Greenland. Lespinasse-Taraba said France and its overseas territories have explored how vessels can move beyond a simple “passage” model and become tools for local development through logistics, fresh-product supply chains, and guide training.
She also pointed to France’s high-mountain expertise as relevant to the Arctic, especially around eco-design, modular infrastructure, reversible construction, and solutions that reduce impact on fragile ground.
Another possible area of transfer is protected-site management. Lespinasse-Taraba cited France’s “Grand Site” approach, which seeks to balance international tourism with preservation of residents’ daily lives and local landscapes.
Food and local identity also came through strongly in the response. Atout France raised the possibility of developing Greenlandic food tourism, even floating the idea of an “Arctic gastronomic route.”
France’s interest in Greenland has become more visible over the past year. President Emmanuel Macron visited Greenland on June 15, 2025, and France later established a consular presence in Nuuk on February 6, 2026, with Jean-Noël Poirier taking up duties as consul general.
Lespinasse-Taraba pointed to the consulate opening and the presence of French officials and companies at Future Greenland 2026 as signs of a more practical French engagement with Greenland.
Lessons from the Alps, Corsica, and Overseas France
Atout France also sees lessons from within France that could apply to Greenland. Lespinasse-Taraba cited the Alps and their experience with intense seasonality, Corsica and French overseas territories on island continuity, and regions such as Brittany, New Caledonia, Réunion, and Auvergne as examples of places that have turned strong culture, language, gastronomy, and traditions into tourism assets.
The agency says it plans to invite Greenlandic decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and tourism actors to France so they can see directly what has worked, and what proved difficult, in French territories.
“Our doors are open,” Lespinasse-Taraba said, adding that Atout France is ready to share useful know-how as Greenland builds its own tourism model.
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