Travel to Paris
When it comes to tourism, which city is the most ‘powerful’? It’s a curious idea and one global body reckons it has the answer.
The non-profit industry body World Travel & Tourism Council has released its 2022 data on the “most powerful city for tourism”. Despite the clumsy wording of the tag and the clear financial angle, it’s an interesting index of the long-lasting value of a destination’s “brand”, particularly considering international arrivals across the globe fell by 72.4 per cent in 2020.
WTTC “analysed tourism data … to see where travellers were spending the most money” plus such factors as how much national, state and regional governments are investing for the tourism prosperity of key cities.
Quelle surprise, Paris topped the chart, possibly due to the massive outlays and infrastructure upgrades associated with the hosting of the 2024 Summer Olympics, including complicated security measures, as much as shoring up the eternal drawcards of food, art and fashion.
WTTC reports an estimated $35.6bn drain on French coffers, even though fewer than 5 per cent of the facilities will be freshly built. The opening ceremony is to take place as a 6km extravaganza along the Seine, with giant screens positioned along the river’s route. It’ll be the first time a stadium with ticketed seating has not been used to launch the modern Games. Also new will be temporary structures and repurposing of existing spaces. The grounds of the Palace of Versailles, for example, will host equestrian events. This “value” is seen as long-term, bolstering the “power” principle. Or something.
Paris always seems to maintain an allure for tourists, riots and robberies notwithstanding, plus negatives such as dog droppings, cigarette smoke and the inescapable prospect and smell of cheese.
For many of us it began with French language lessons in high school, Alliance Francaise classes on Saturday afternoons, discovering the romance of its literature and poetry, and watching Borsalino (showing my age here) and realising no one in the outer Sydney suburbs was ever going to look like Alain Delon. The sooner I acquired a beret and made my way to the Left Bank the better. The romance continues, only rivalled by Florence or Venice.
Back to the WTTC list, which devolves after the Paris crown to, surprisingly, three in China. Plus Las Vegas and Orlando (Florida), both big-bucks leisure drawcards and, as expected, London and NYC get a nod, plus Tokyo. But Mexico City? It’s had an increase of 8.2 million overseas visitors in 2021-22 and more big-name hotel openings than you could poke a shovel at.
Meanwhile, in Paris, the Games will take place July 26-August 11. Whether it would be the best, or the worst, time to visit France is debatable, but in a way that’s true of all international extravaganzas. And for the record, I did meet (stalk) Alain Delon on rue de Rennes in the 6th arrondissement, when I was 20, and got his autograph on a Metro ticket. He asked my name and I fibbed that it was Suzette. Priceless.