Paris pins its tourism hopes on Americans. . . and shopaholics

by Katie Hammel on

Poor Paris. The city was recently voted “most overrated in the world” and tourism is down by 11% (or more, according to some reports) compared with the first half of 2008. The number of British and Japanese visitors dropped nearly 25% each, while the number of tourists from China declined by over 17%.

Mon Dieu! What’s a city to do? Well, according to the AP, the director of the Paris Tourism Office is “counting on Americans” to make up for the drop in visitors from other countries. Because the United States was hit first by the economic crisis, it is expected to recover sooner, which means more American tourists may be looking to travel before others. And the plan for luring those tourists to Paris: the promise of extended shopping hours.

Most French stores are closed on Sunday, but a new law would allow more stores, particularly those in areas popular with tourists, to stay open. The Paris Tourism Office thinks this would encourage visitors to stay through the end of the weekend instead of leaving Sunday morning.

It’s an interesting idea, but somehow I don’t think shopping is the key to the city’s survival. I like to shop as much as the next girl, and I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, but what has stopped me wasn’t the fact that I couldn’t hit the stores on Sunday, so much as a desire to score a better deal on airfare. I can never seem to find Chicago to Paris flights that aren’t at least $200 more than any other European destination. Until that changes, sorry Paris, but you can’t count on this American to help with your tourism troubles.

Touring the Western Front

by Sean McLachlan on

With the recent death of the last veteran to fight in the trenches of World War One, one of the twentieth century’s most convulsive events has passed into history. From 1914-18, great armies battered at each other across a hellish landscape in which millions died. Old empires fell and new countries were born.

This photo gives an idea what it was like. A member of the Cheshire Regiment of the UK army keeps watch while his buddies sleep in the mud during the Battle of the Somme, July 1916. Not only did he and his friends have to deal with enemy fire, but they had to contend with rats, lice, cold, damp, and disease.

Several companies offer tours of World War One battlefields, including Valor Tours, which recently announced a tour of many of the major WWI battlefields in France. It runs from May 4 to 11, 2010, and stops at Verdun, Champagne, Chateau-Thierry / Belleau Wood, the First and Second Battle of the Marne, Blanc Mont, St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. These last two are of special interest to Americans, because this is where the American Expeditionary Force got its baptism of fire in 1917. A young Harry Truman was among the tens of thousands of Doughboys to fight there, serving as an artillery officer.

The tour is run by Mike Hanlon, who has been doing these for many years. While I’ve never taken one of his tours, I’m acquainted with his work through the Great War Society. He edits the society newsletter and has written extensively on the conflict. I’ve heard through other members that his trips are very informative and can be personally tailored to detour to places of personal importance. Many people take advantage of this to visit spots where their ancestors were wounded or earned a medal.

The Western Front wasn’t the only theatre of war. World War One was the first truly global conflict, with battlefields in Eastern Europe, the Pacific, Africa, and the Far East. Valor Tours is planning a tour of the WWI battlefields of Italy in 2011. Several other organizations offer tours, such as Bartletts Battlefield Journeys Ltd., Battle Honours Ltd., and The Salonika Campaign Society. Tours generally take in one or more battlefields, several museums, graveyards, and monuments. They vary widely in price and what’s offered, so shop around. Questions to ask include whether there will be a translator along, how much time is set aside for personal detours, and what alternate plans are in place in case of bad weather. Also check to make sure your guide to published on the subject. That shows a level of expertise beyond the usual tour guide. You’ll also want to read up before you go and while there’s a whole library of books on the subject, a good single-volume history is The First World War by Hew Strachan. A Top 100 list of WWI books is available here.

Brit tourist locked in French town hall overnight

by Alison Brick on

Why name a building “hôtel” if it’s not really a hotel?

That’s what a British tourist ended up thinking after she popped into the hôtel de ville in Dannemarie, France on Friday night.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t realized that “hôtel de ville” translates to “town hall.”

Just when she might think it’s her lucky day to find a bathroom before checking in, the day proved her wrong. At that same moment, officials in the building wrapped up a meeting and exited, locking the doors shut.

She called for help. She flicked the lights on and off. But she couldn’t get the attention of anybody on the outside–until Saturday morning.

She did it by posting a note on the inside of a window, which caught the eye of someone on the outside. The British woman couldn’t speak fluent French, but she got her message across. Her note said: “Je suis fermer ici. Est ce possible moi la porte ouvrir?” (I am to close here. Is it possible me the door to open?)

Even when she was a free woman on Saturday, she wasn’t entirely lucky. As a town of only 2,500 people, Dannemarie’s hotels were booked and the only rooms available on Saturday night were in neighboring towns.
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Travel to Spain suffering

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It really is a shame: summer travel to Spain is off 6.1 percent this year, as the global economic decline is making the decision to travel tougher for everyone. The country’s Tourism Ministry puts the number of July arrivals at just over 6.6 million. For the entire year (through the end of July), arrivals fell 10.3 percent to 30.2 million visitors. This follows a record 33.6 million for the same period in 2008.

Spain has historically been one of the world’s top three tourist destination in terms of both the number of people arriving and income earned from them; France and the United States are the other two. So, a substantial year-over-year decline is likely to be felt.

Every part of Spain saw arrivals fell except Madrid, where arrivals increased by 6.6 percent. Andalucia saw visits drop by 11 percent, though Valencia had an easier time. Of the regions with falling arrivals, it had the lowest at only 0.4 percent.

Most of Spain’s tourist traffic came from Britain, which sent 1.6 million visitors to the country. France is second, overtaking Germany this year. British share of travel to Spain, 24.5 percent, fell 16.1 percent this year because of economic conditions. Meanwhile, French tourism to Spain increased this year, with visits to Valencia surging 35 percent and Madrid up 23.4 percent.

Mona Lisa assaulted with coffee mug

by Tom Johansmeyer on

A Russian woman threw an empty terra cotta mug at the most famous painting on display at the Louvre. Despite the propelling of kitchenware, the Mona Lisa was not damaged, though the mug didn’t fare as well. It shattered – a side effect of moving at a rapid speed toward a hard object that isn’t going to move.

The unusual attack triggered the alarms on the painting immediately, and police quickly took the woman away. The few cracks in the glass covering the painting did not interrupt the viewing of the painting. The unruly visitor’s name was not revealed, in accordance with museum policy.

So, where does a person go after going after the Mona Lisa with a coffee mug? You guessed it: a psychiatric ward. Paris police wouldn’t say anything else about who she is or what her beef is with Mona.