We were very concerned going into 2009 that tourism would be down dramatically and that Paris would suffer. The data below is for 2008, which showed a basically flat situation versus 2007, despite a recession that started midway through the year. In 2009, while we hear a lot more of the economic issues affecting Paris, so far, rentals of our apartment have been stronger than ever. This may be due to a flight to value, with people looking to spend less than they would on a hotel, or perhaps just because we’ve marketed our apartment for a few years now and are starting to get good word-of-mouth exposure for it.
Eighty million people can’t be wrong. That’s how many visited France last year. France must be doing something right. According to the French Ministry of the Economy, the country leads in attracting foreigners. Some people may simply be passing through on the way to final destinations because of France’s central European location and airlines’ use of Paris as a hub. But many people stay.
In spite of the global economic downturn, there was only a .3 percent decrease in the number of people who came to France in 2008 than in 2007.
[From tripso.com | France, the world’s #1 tourist destination]
