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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (8885)	9/23/2003 2:04:17 AM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793688

Looks like French exports to the US are down, and US tourism to France is REALLY down........ Disaster for tourism as US visitors shun Paris By Henry Samuel in Paris (Filed: 01/08/2003) telegraph.co.uk Millions of foreign tourists are shunning France this summer, costing the country billions of pounds and threatening its position as the world's favourite destination. Travel agents say there is widespread evidence that the tourist industry is suffering as a result of President Jacques Chirac's vehement stand against the war in Iraq. The strong euro has added to the crisis. According to the president of France's travel agents' union, Cesar Balderacchi, bookings from the United States in the past six months were 50 per cent down on last year, with no sign of improvement as the tourist season reaches its peak. British visitor numbers have fallen by around 10 per cent. Tourism is of enormous importance to France. Last year, 77 million visitors arrived, lured by France's gastronomy, wealth of history and topographical variety, bringing in £24 billion. American tourists alone accounted for £4.2 billion. "After the Iraq crisis, many American tour operators just airbrushed France out of their brochures. Instead of offering a tour including Britain, France and Italy, say, we are now replaced by Spain," said M Balderacchi. >>>>>>>>>>>>con't And..... iht.com U.S. tourists stay away from France AP Tuesday, July 29, 2003 PARIS The number of American tourists visiting France has dropped dramatically this year, by as much as 80 percent in the first half of 2003, the newspaper Liberation reported Monday, quoting the president of a group representing France's travel agents. . "Our colleagues across the Atlantic no longer schedule France," C?ar Balderacchi told the daily newspaper. Balderacchi's somber assessment was countered by the Tourism Ministry, which put the decrease in American visitors at 30 percent for the first five months of 2003, attributing the decline mainly to the weak dollar. In reality people probably did cut back on obvious French items, such as wine. I do know that tourism to Europe is down.