Who will we see first: tourism in the public debate or the Americans in Montmartre? Despite the slow resumption of transatlantic travel, the second option appears to be the safest to date. While tourists have deserted the Ile-de-France, these last fifteen months, recalling, by their absence, their impact on Parisian life and economy, the campaign for the regional election ends without the theme ever emerged.
This regional competence is only touched on in the programs of those who aspire to lead the first tourist region in the world – the theme was not imposed during the Paris municipal elections in 2020. The decades-long legacy of tourism unthinkable, whose receipts swelled effortlessly in tandem with the expansion of mass tourism and despite the rare smile of the brewery waiters. Affected by regular crises, tourism in the Ile-de-France region also rebounded quickly, relying on its fundamentals: iconic museums and monuments, luxury and department stores, conventions, Disneyland.
“The Covid-19 crisis is an electric shock which forces all local actors to ask themselves the question of reinvention and a better rooting of tourism in the territories”, Edith Fagnoni, professor of geography at Sorbonne University
“Paris is not in the concert of cities victims of overtourism, it did without a reflection and was satisfied with its postcard hypercentre, believes Edith Fagnoni, professor of geography at Sorbonne University. But the Covid-19 crisis is an electric shock which forces all local actors to ask themselves the question of reinvention and a better rooting of tourism in the territories. ”
” Until now, confirms Stéphane Durand, partner at Voltere by Egis, Paris considered itself self-sufficient with its attraction to distant markets and its business clientele. But other crises will come and resilience will come from two clienteles that are rarely touched: Ile-de-France residents and European families. The image of Paris must evolve towards that of a larger territory, in which there are also forests and heritage in the countryside. “
New practices
The crisis has given rise to new practices and both the city and the region want to be inspired by them. Mr. Durand, who conducted the preparatory diagnosis for the new regional tourism plan, observes that “Wealthy Ile-de-France residents can become good customers: the lodges, peripheral sites and animal parks work very well. In certain high-end structures, they found the countryside on the outskirts of Paris while remaining in a form of self, like the Ile de Ré or Le Touquet without the traffic jams. “
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