Paris braces for tourism hit as virus keeps Chinese at home
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, October 8, 2024


Paris braces for tourism hit as virus keeps Chinese at home
French Health Minister Olivier Veran holds a press conference following a meeting on the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak at the Health Ministry on February 18, 2020, in Paris. More than 72,000 people have been infected by the outbreak of the new COVID-19 strain in China, which has claimed the lives of over 1,800 people. Ludovic MARIN / AFP.



PARIS (AFP).- The new coronavirus outbreak is depriving Paris hotels, restaurants and retailers of big-spending Chinese visitors, the latest challenge for a French tourism industry facing headwinds from homegrown protests and Brexit, officials said Monday.

"For now, airline forecasts suggest a 60 percent drop in Chinese visitors for February, March and April compared with the same period last year," said Valerie Pecresse, president of the Ile-de-France region that encompasses the French capital.

"Yet Asian clients are absolutely crucial for us," she said while presenting 2019 tourism figures for the region.

Around 950,000 Chinese visited Paris last year, making them the fifth-largest source of tourists by nationality, according to the CRT regional tourism committee.

But they were the second-biggest spenders overall, shelling out one billion euros ($1.1 billion) on hotel rooms, restaurants, museum visits and shopping sprees.

The GNC hotels association has already warned of a surge in cancellations by Chinese clients, especially by tour groups, whose cancellation rates reached 80 percent in January and nearly 100 percent for February.

Pecresse compared the current virus scare to the SRAS outbreak, "which had a very strong impact on Asian tourist travel, with 300,000 fewer visitors in 2003 from 2002."

If an epidemic is declared in other Asian countries or in Europe, "the situation would become even more alarming," she said.

Last year, Paris and its surrounding region chalked up 50 million visitors, up slightly from 2018, while overall spending was stable at nearly 22 billion euros, the CRT said.

"The uncertainties linked to Brexit, the protests in France, the weaker economic climate in Europe and global trade tensions dissuaded some groups, notably from Britain, China, and the Middle East," it said.

© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

February 25, 2020

Barry Art Museum opens an exhibition of work of abstract painter Joan Thorne

Nationalmuseum acquires a work by Artemisia Gentileschi

Getty Museum opens 'Michelangelo: Mind of The Master'

The Momentary, designed by Chicago-based Wheeler Kearns Architects, opens in Bentonville

Centraal Museum Utrecht presents 'The Tears of Eros: Moesman, Surrealism and the Sexes'

Rick Springfield auctioning personal guitar collection for Australian fire relief

The Barnes Foundation opens 'Marie Cuttoli: The Modern Thread from Miró to Man Ray'

First U.S. survey of Forensic Architecture's work opens in Miami

Million dollar Baltimore coin set for auction

Rubik's Cube Mona Lisa fetches 480,000 euros at Paris auction

Paris braces for tourism hit as virus keeps Chinese at home

Hundreds of orchestral arrangements owned by Judy Garland to be auctioned

Is this the best opera singer you've (probably) never heard of?

Bonnie MacLean, psychedelic poster artist, is dead at 80

The Pont Neuf Wrapped (Project For Paris) highlights Bonhams Post-War & Contemporary Art Sale

CHAT announces the appointment of Takahashi Mizuki as Executive Director and Chief Curator

apexart opens an exhibition of textile-based installations

Exhibition explores the politics of space and place

Rhode Island School of Design presents an exhibition by American artist Martin Mull

Litvinenko murder has hallmarks of an opera: composer

Vancouver Art Gallery receives $1.5 million gift for new building

Pride & Prejudice brings $100k in Sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts at Swann

Galleries at the Historic Thomas Center open RBL GRL / Revolution Doesn't Ask Permission

miart, organized by Fiera Milano announces the first edition of the INNSiDE Prize

Ancient Resource Auctions' Spring Antiquities Sale has authentic antiquities and ethnographic art




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful