Chris Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 What's the view from France?"But figures published by the Office for National Statistics suggest that the nation's love affair with the chateaux of the Dordogne and the patisseries of Paris may be on the wane, with visitor numbers having slumped by a fifth in four years.The ONS's annual survey of travel trends found that British visitors to France numbered 8.8 million in 2012, well down on the 2008 figure of 10.9 million. Even more gallingly for the Gauls, while visits to North America were also down last year by 7.5% to 3.4 million, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Norway all saw the number of British visitors rise, with 2.3 million more Britons visiting Spain than France last year.The reasons for the cooling of our French love affair were not clear, said Roger Smith, principal researcher for the ONS and the report's author. Thanks to a combination of the Olympics, the Jubilee and the wettest April to June on record, 2012 was "an unusual year", he said."http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2013/apr/19/french-holidays-britons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Reasons? How about costs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprogster Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 You are right wooly, as France has become expensive compared to Spain and other popular tourist destinations.Also the unsettled weather over the past few summers has probably not helped France, as tourists head further south for guaranteed sunshine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 That is very true of the Vendee too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Now you have me doubting my memory, but it is still 'there' in my head that on french news they were saying that France was still at the top or there abouts of holiday destinations, or was that Paris????? I'm sure as I can be that that was just a month or so ago. And I don't think that they were talking about brits specifically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 We are still getting them here; in fact a new line has just opened from Edinburgh, bring some rather superior new visitors (better than the Essex girls that the Luton flight brought us anyway) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 FWIW, Luton is of course in Bedfordshire, but maybe a few of the undesirables have been known to stray across the border.HM Govt is seeking a Charge d'Affaires for the Languedoc region (required skills include extreme diplomacy) and it is my understanding that Norman is on the short list. [blink] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCCMB Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 They'll take anyone with a pulse, though. A mate of mine used to be Honorary consul in Burkina Faso. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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