Is tourism down this year?
 

<BR>I'm going to be in Italy next month, specifically Roma, Sorrento and Venezia. The Chicago Tribune Travel section reported that tourism was off 16% in Paris this year, due to the 9/11 attacks. <BR><BR>For those who have visited this year or who live there, does it seem like there were less tourists than usual?<BR><BR>Thanks in advance, <BR><BR>jp

NBC had a report recently saying tourism from Americans to Paris was off by %30 as compared with last year. <BR><BR>Did the article you read say that the decline was a sole result of 9.1.1. or did they also hint that the economy was a factor in the downturn? <BR><BR>In my book, the economy has more to do with the decline of pleasure travel than does terrorism. (I'm talking to Europe, and my personal feelings)

Does a bear shit in the woods?

I would tend to agree with you. The sagging economy, along with the weaker dollar make traveling to Europe more expensive. I'm just wondering if its going to be as crowded as the last time I was there, mid-September 2000. <BR><BR>jp

In a way, if what I experienced was 30% LESS tourists this year in Paris than in years past, I can't imagine how you moved around. The line to get in to the Orsay was at least 2-3 hours wait (unless you had your museum pass ;).<BR>Every restaurant we had a reservation at was totally booked by 8:30 at night and the concerts we attended were sold out. Guess I was lucky, in a way.

We just came back on Friday from Paris,Rome and Madrid and yes, there were fewer tourists.The only wait,10 minutes, was at the Musee D'Orsay and that was because the Louvre was closed.Even the airports were fine,we flew from Paris to Rome then onto Madrid and home via Paris.All flights left on time!It was great for us!

Pam, that's 30% fewer American tourists. There are still a lot of people from other parts of Europe, including other parts of France, who are also tourists.

We were in SML recently and the hotel management told us that tourism there, in general - not just Americans, was down and most likely because of 9/11.

Well, I've just cancelled our trip to Paris in September (booked the room upon our return in June 2001). Not specifically due to 9/11, although air travel was hectic enough with plenty of possible contingencies before 9/11. The main reason I cancelled was airfares. 50% higher than we paid last year, and I've been shopping fares since January as usual. And, the value of the dollar has gone way down in the past several months. So, this year we're taking a road trip.

Hi,<BR><BR>We just got back from Venice, Stresa,( Lago Maggiore) and London. We did not see as many Americans as we had anticipated, and were told by several hotel staffers and taxi drivers that tourism was WAY down this summer. Still, we are very glad that we went. Sometimes when you're home in New York and hit with nearly daily threats of terrorism, it's hard to remember that the rest of the world is full of mostly decent people. Travelling more and having conversations with everyone we met was a relief and invaluable. Good luck!