Hello,

today (monday) the newspaper Liberation has a special coverage about Americans not coming to France this year.
I thought it might interrest you.

http://www.liberation.com/page.php?Article=127406

they are talking about rumors heard in the US about buses abandoning their US tourists in the middle of no where ;-)


Celine

I think those "rumors" were undoubtedly spread by the same folks who decided it would be patriotic to rename the fried potato dish "Freedon Fries."

yes, Vive les Frites!

Interesting article, Celine. It's really too bad that so many in the tourist industry are suffering. I'm astounded at the bizarre (and childish) reaction on the part of so many Americans. I did my part, though, with a trip in May. Maybe I should think about going back in September.

I haven't read the article, but was in the south of France two weeks ago, and there was a report on the radio about the number of tourist being down by 10 to 15 percent. This is not just due to Americans not coming. I know quite a few people from other European countries who decided not to go to the Cote d'Azur this year because of high prices (all prices have gone up considerably since the Euro), not always friendly service and overcrowding in August. In July, it was quite noticably less busy than in other years; beaches had plenty of space, it was easy to book restaurants, and there where not too many traffic jams.

I figured that it should be more enjoyable for the daring tourist !

anyway, despite the drop, France is still the number one destination...yeahhh... ;-)



Celine

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