E. Asian Tourists Avoiding France

A Chinese tourism expert said tourists from China and other East Asian countries are shunning France due to rising crime and violence, and turning to Russia as a safer destination. Jean-François Zhou, the president of Chinese Association of Travel Agencies in France, said “increasingly violent” burglaries and attacks are turning France into “one of the worst destinations for foreign tourists”. According to Newsline, in an interview with Le Parisien, Zhou said, "In 2016, there were 1.6 million Chinese tourists compared to 2.2 million in 2015. The number of Japanese tourists dropped 39% and Koreans 27%. Our tourists have turned to Russia, which is less attractive but at least it is a safe country.” So far, there are no planned campaigns urging Chinese tourists to pass up visiting France, but the experienced travel agent said a boycott has already started, with multiple Asian operators choosing to redirect Asian tourists to Spain, Italy and Russia.