France is worried about its tourism in view of ongoing bomb threats and the highest terror alert level imposed for the country.
The Palace of Versailles was evacuated again on Saturday due to a bomb threat. As soon as the safety checks have been completed, the tourist attraction near Paris announced on Saturday afternoon that it would reopen. This is the sixth closure of the castle in seven days due to a threat. Although a suspect has already been arrested, the threats continue.
First cancellations
The president of the hotel and restaurant association (UMIH) in the greater Paris area, Franck Delvau, reported to the broadcaster France Info at the start of the autumn holidays that there was a ten percent increase in cancellations. Tourists are postponing their trips out of fear of further warnings, he warned. In addition to hotels, taxi drivers also registered a slight decline in customers. “This puts the tourism industry at risk,” and the fearful climate is not good for the industry.
In recent days, thousands of tourists have been affected by flights at regional airports being canceled following bomb threats or had to cancel their visit to the Palace of Versailles or the Louvre. “People are fed up. We are already seeing that bookings are starting to be canceled,” said Versailles Mayor François de Mazières. “We are worried. If you come from abroad and arrive in a week, you don’t want to take any risks.”
Paris hotel operator Didier Castel, contacted by broadcaster BFMTV, reports a number of cancellations. “Since the beginning of the week we have lost 15 percent of our bookings by the end of the month. Almost all of them were bookings from abroad.” The Ministry of Tourism announced that there could be no talk of a wave of cancellations and there was no need to invoke one. From the perspective of tourism experts, there are fewer long-distance travelers from the USA or Asia who are canceling trips they have booked for a long time. Holidaymakers from neighboring countries such as Belgium or Germany could cancel a planned short trip out of fear of disruption.
Fatal attack on teachers
Some also see France’s reputation as a tourism destination at risk in the run-up to the Olympic Games next summer. The nationwide excitement about the spread of bed bugs, which the government quickly brought into action and sent waves abroad, has only just subsided.
Bomb threats have increased since the deadly attack by a young Islamist on a teacher in Arras a week ago, which severely shocked France. The highest terror alert level in the country was then imposed. A large number of the threats also affect schools and in many cases the authorities have already identified young people as responsible. As the police announced, videos of the school evictions were shared millions of times on social networks. However, given the tense security situation in the country, any threat is taken extremely seriously.
