Good vintage air show

LE BOUGET, FRANCE, 27 June 2017: This year’s Paris Air Show at Le Bourget has proved a “good vintage” with orders up 13% though fewer visitors showed up, organisers said as the event wound down Sunday.

Tight security owing to an ongoing state of emergency in the wake of several terror attacks in France in the past 18 months saw the number of visitors slide compared with the last edition two years ago — the event alternates with Farnborough in England.

But orders rose to USD150 billion (134 billion euros) compared with the USD130 billion the industry put in its order books two years ago, with giants Boeing and Airbus between them taking the lion’s share with USD114 billion — USD74.8 billion and USD39.7 billion respectively. Read more

State of emergency in Paris

PARIS, 21 April 2017: A known terror suspect gunned down a police officer and wounded two others, Thursday, on Paris’s Champs Elysees in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group days before France’s presidential election.

The shooter opened fire with an automatic weapon on a police car on the world-famous boulevard at around 9:00 pm (1900 GMT), prompting tourists and visitors to run for their lives.

After killing the officer and injuring his colleagues, the gunman was shot dead in return fire while trying to flee on foot, police sources told AFP. Read more

Terror slows Paris tourism

PARIS, 23 February 2017: Paris saw a drop of 1.5 million tourists in 2016 as fears linked to terror attacks scared off visitors, especially from China and Japan, figures showed Tuesday.

However, tourist numbers picked up towards the end of the year, suggesting the slump could be easing, regional tourism authority CRT said.

The number of international visitors to the French capital fell almost 9% in 2016, with numbers from Japan plummeting more than 40% and Chinese visitors down by more than 20%. Read more

Terror menaces Paris

PARIS, 7 February 2017: Tourism is likely to suffer following the thwarted attack near the Louvre museum last Friday.

Visitors to the famous museum dropped 2 million over the last two years, mainly attributed to terror attacks.

The latest attack will further tarnish the reputation of Paris. Read more

Sunday shopping to save tourism

PARIS, 10 January 2017: Good news for tourists, Sunday shopping at Paris’s prestigious department stores will soon become a reality.

Officials believe the move to free up Sunday shopping should counter a drop in visits following terror attacks that scared away foreign visitors to the world’s fashion capital.

President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government has chipped away at France’s laws preventing shops opening on Sunday. Read more

Strike closes Eiffel Tower

PARIS, 15 December 2016: Striking workers kept the Eiffel Tower shut for a second day, Wednesday, in protest over an upcoming paint job at the famous Paris landmark which they say risks damaging their health.

“The tower is closed until further notice,” the militant CGT union told AFP, saying that workers had voted to continue their protest after being refused a meeting with management on Tuesday.

The tower’s operator SETE confirmed it would remain closed Wednesday and apologised to visitors. Read more

Thieves teargas Chinese tourists

PARIS, 3 August 2016: Around six assailants sprayed teargas on Chinese tourists outside a hotel near Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport on Tuesday and made off with their luggage, police and rescue services said.

Two tourists and an interpreter were slightly injured and taken to hospital, rescue workers said.

The attack occurred around 0800 (0600 GMT) as the tourists were loading their luggage onto a tour bus, police told AFP. Read more

Paris tourism suffers a dip

PARIS, 31 May 2016: Already suffering from the impact of last year’s jihadist attacks, tourism in Paris faces a fresh challenge from the recent wave of violent strikes and protests, tourism bosses warned Monday.

Hotel bookings by Japanese visitors were down 56% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2015, while Russians were down by 35%, the city’s tourist board said.

Chinese tourists had been a major driver of growth last year — reaching a new record of 1.2 million — but their numbers had also dropped by 13.9%. Read more

Paris icon car-free

PARIS, 9 May 2016: The sight of traffic thundering down Paris’s most famous boulevard was replaced Sunday by people strolling, cycling and taking selfies as the Champs-Elysees went traffic-free.

The first instalment of a monthly series of pedestrian-only days was hailed as a resounding success by Parisians and tourists alike on the 2 km-long (1.2-mile) avenue leading to the Arc de Triomphe.

“Oh la la. Look at that, it’s magnificent,” said Roger, 67, who lives just off the Champs-Elysees as he got his first look at the thousands of people strolling in the sun where normally cars and motorbikes would be thronging the road. Read more

Tourism to suffer downtrack

PARIS, 23 November 2015: France can withstand the financial shock of the Paris attacks, analysts say, despite people deserting big stores, shunning concert halls and cancelling hotel bookings.

Beyond the incalculable human cost, the experience of attacks in New York in 2001, Madrid in 2004, London in 2005, and Mumbai in 2008 shows the economic impact may be fleeting.

The November 13 jihadist shooting and bombings in the French capital, which killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more, led to an immediate 80% plunge in concert ticket sales, an association of promoters said.

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