New scares give tourists the jitters across Asia
Print Edition
FRESH violence on the streets of Paris and bomb threats against Air France flights have rattled the global tourism industry, as travelers from wealthy Asian nations think twice about taking trips to Europe.
Some Chinese tourists have shunned Paris, opting instead to visit Germany and other European cities in the wake of the second major attack this year on the French capital.
More than 2 million Chinese were expected to visit France, the world’s leading tourist destination, this year, up from 1.7 million last year, according to Chinese media reports. For Japanese, France is the 12th most popular travel destination.
The likely blip in foreign arrivals will put extra pressure on the French economy, particularly if tourist unease lasts through the Christmas season. Tourism generates more than 7 percent of annual GDP, with Paris alone drawing in 32.2 million visitors last year.
“I still want to go to Paris, but after this incident I won’t go within a year,’ said Vickie Zheng, a 27-year-old real estate agent in Shanghai.
“My impression of Paris is that it’s a romantic city, but after this I think the security situation has been neglected and there are risks,” said Li Maoqing, 29, a Shanghai salesman.
An employee at CITIC Tourism in Beijing said business related to France was expected to remain “sluggish.”
“Unlike earthquakes or natural disasters, a terrorist attack will leave people with fear for ... at least three months,” the person said.
Among Asian airlines operating flights to Paris, a spokesman for South Korea’s Asiana Airlines said it has stepped up security.
“Our passengers are really concerned,” said K. W. Nieh, a senior vice president at Taiwan’s Eva Airways.
“On Sunday, we had 50 cancellations out of 300 bookings. Paris has always been a fully loaded route for us, but that has dropped to 70-80 percent since the attacks,” he said.
Several airlines, such as Air China and Singapore Airlines, waived cancellation fees for those booked on flights to Paris in the coming days or weeks.
Dennis Bunnik, chairman of Council of Australian Tour Operators Inc, said clients are “definitely nervous,” though this is currently low season for traveling to Europe.
“People have realized that terrorism can happen anywhere, so if your time’s up, then unfortunately you’ll get caught in it,” he said.
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