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Fresh violence on the streets of Paris and bomb threats against Air France flights have rattled the global tourism industry, with travelers from wealthy Asian nations thinking twice about trips to Europe, http://tenplay.com.au / Reuters reported.
Tour operators cancelled package trips and some predicted a further slowdown in bookings as jittery travelers hold off on immediate plans or look to go elsewhere.
Some big-spending Chinese tourists are shunning Paris for now and opting instead to visit Germany and other European cities in the wake of the second major attack this year on the French capital.
Some Chinese visiting Paris last weekend swiftly diverted to Switzerland, said Jane Chen at travel firm Ctrip in Shanghai.
More than two million Chinese were expected to visit France, the world’s leading tourist destination, this year, up from 1.7 million last year, according to Chinese state media citing the country’s ambassador to France.
For Japanese, France is the 12th most popular travel destination.
The likely blip in foreign arrivals will further pressure the French economy, particularly if tourist unease lasts through the Christmas season. Tourism generates more than seven per cent of annual GDP, with Paris alone drawing in 32.2 million visitors last year.
“I still want to go to Paris, but after this incident I won’t go within a year,” Vickie Zheng, a 27-year-old realtor in Shanghai said.
“My impression of Paris is that it’s a romantic city, but after this I think the security situation has been neglected and there are risks. If I was travelling this would influence me,” Li Maoqing, 29, a Shanghai salesman added.
Dennis Bunnik, Chairman of Council of Australian Tour Operators Inc, said clients are “definitely nervous,” though this is currently low season for travelling to Europe.
“People have realized that terrorism can happen anywhere, so if your time’s up, then unfortunately you’d get caught in it,” he said.
“What this sort of incident would do is delay people booking, but won’t stop them from travelling.”
Read more at http://tenplay.com.au/news/national/november/tourism-industry-rattled
Source: www.tenplay.com.au , Reuters
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