With visits to Paris down 17 percent since last year, the French are being asked to do some public relations: put on a happy face.
So says the Paris Tourist Board. They have set up stands manned by teams of “smile ambassadors” to welcome visitors to the country’s most popular spots.
"We have to work on striking and simple images. There’s nothing as telling as a smile," Paul Roll, who heads the tourist board, told Reuters.
This comes following news that a questionnaire carried out by travel site TripAdvisor found Paris to be the most over-rated city in Europe, citing its high prices and unpleasant residents.
Daniel Fasquelle, founder of a tourism association, said that French from all walks of life needed to play their part.
"If we want tourism, which has generated more than two million jobs, to remain a major economic sector, everyone has to get behind it — professionals, elected representatives, and French people," he said.
Plans for a string of new luxury hotels are also in the pipeline, and Secretary of State for Tourism, Herve Novelli, is counting on a cut in taxes for the restaurant industry, which came into effect on July 1, to boost tourism.
by David Wilkening
