Tourism to France rose in 2015 despite the Paris terror attacks, with the country attracting more than 80 million tourists in 2015.
Government figures show that 84.5 million tourists visited continental France, an increase of 0.9% compared to 2014.
The 13 November attacks in which 130 people died had a negative impact, with a drop of 15% in the numbers of foreign visitors traveling to Paris in the months of November and December. Before that massacre, two shooters had stormed the office of a satirical newspaper in January, killing a dozen people, Travel Weekly UK reported.
After a 1.8% increase over the first three quarters, there was a 3.1% drop at national level in the last quarter, according to a report in the Mail Online.
Air France said the attacks caused around €120 million in lost revenue.
But French authorities maintain that the country remains the world’s leading tourist destination, with hotel stays rising 0.8% across France in 2015.
The largest increase was among tourists coming from Asia, whose numbers grew by 22.7% and the number of American tourists also increased by 15.2% to 3.6 million in 2015, ‘marking a return of these customers to France,’ officials said in a statement.
There was a 1.5% drop in European visitors but the number of British tourists crossing the Channel went up 3.3%.
“The attacks that hit Paris in November have restricted this increase, particularly in the capital,” French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said. “My goal remains to welcome 100 million foreign tourists every year in France by 2020.”
