French campaign to woo tourists in wake of terror works too well
A CHARM offensive to woo back tourists frightened off by terror attacks in Paris and Nice has been so successful that France is now struggling to cope with record numbers of visitors.
People are forced to queue for hours in sweltering heat at sites including the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Château of Versailles, the Mont-Saint-Michel, the Château of Chambord, in the Loire valley, and Carcassonne, the south-western medieval fortress. Tourists are being urged to make online bookings up to three months in advance to see the sights without the exhausting experience of battling through huge crowds.
Many popular attractions are considering introducing a sliding scale of charges to encourage more visits outside peak times. But tour operators are concerned the plan might deter visitors.
France is the world’s most popular tourist destination, despite a dip after a string of attacks in 2015 and 2016. Tourism represents nearly 10 per cent of its GDP and supports about three million jobs. There are fears of Venice-style “over-tourism”, with France expected to receive more than 90million foreign visitors this year, rising to 100million by 2020. Christian Mantel, head of Atout France, the national tourism development agency, said: “If nothing is done, in five years’ time it will be necessary to regulate the number of firsttime foreign visitors to France.
“In Paris, 80 per cent of sites that tourists absolutely want to see are along the banks of the Seine and they are close to saturation.”
France offers a unique combination of historic châteaux, beautiful beaches and countryside, picturesque villages, glamorous Riviera nightlife and a renowned gastronomic tradition. So far relations between tourists and locals are generally amiable. France has not had to contend with the anti-tourist protests or graffiti that have hit Venice, Amsterdam and Barcelona, but officials fear resentment is building.
Last year Dubrovnik announced drastic limits on entry to its Old Town. Venetians have protested against visiting cruise ships, and sightseeing buses have been attacked in Barcelona.
Le Figaro newspaper warned of the risk of a similar backlash in France, although it pointed out that the country has “not yet seen walls with [anti-tourist] graffiti, petitions, demonstrations or referendums to limit the numbers of visitors”.
“For now, France hasn’t reached crisis point, but we’re close to it,” Mr Mantel said. “Above a certain number of visitors, sites will be forced to turn people away.” Pierre-Frédéric Roulot, of the Louvre Hotels Group, said: “Tourism is great, but at a certain point you have to stop saying you want to attract ever greater numbers of tourists. If not, you run into a brick wall.”