Paris is counting on American tourists - and a new law allowing more stores to open on Sundays - to boost tourism revenues pinched by the global financial downturn.
The French capital registered an 11.1-percent drop in foreign visitors in the first half of this year compared with the first half of 2008, according to figures released Wednesday by the Paris Tourism Office.
The number of Americans in Paris - long the largest contingent of foreigners here - dived last year because of U.S. economic woes and the expensive euro. But it started to pick up again, by 1.1%, in the second quarter of this year, the tourism office said.
Paul Roll, director of the Paris Tourism Office, said the city is "counting on the Americans" to keep tourism revenues up and compensate for a plunge in visits by British, Japanese and Chinese tourists.
He noted that America's economy was hit early and hard by the financial crisis and is expected to emerge sooner, while other economies were slower to start their slump.
The weak British pound and troubles in Britain's finance-heavy economy have taken their toll on cross-Channel travel: The number of British visitors fell 23.4% in the first half of this year.
"The pound is really low now and it's horrible," said Mark Abbott, a 21-year-old medical student from Liverpool, visiting the Champs-Elysees on Wednesday after two days camping in Normandy.
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Source - USATODAY
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