Impacts of terrorism on French tourism

Tourism is a factor for growth and development. Tourism, which began in the 19th century, is now a globalized activity. It is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon that involves the movement of people to places or countries different from their own.
France is the most visited region in the world in terms of tourism. However, in recent years, France has been the victim of several terrorist attacks that could impact the tourism sector and its economy.
Impact on the number of tourists visiting France
France is the world's leading tourist destination, with more than 84.5 million visitors in 2015 and nearly 5 million visitors per year to Paris. The city of Nice represents 40% of the tourist flow in the .
However, the attacks of 13 November 2015 in Paris had an impact on French tourism, leading to a decrease in foreign visitors. The Paris region was most affected by the decline in foreign tourist arrivals in the first quarter following the 2015 attacks. The regional tourism committee has -56% Japanese and -35% Russian.
The attacks of 14 July 2016 in Nice had a major impact on the city's tourist flow, leading to many last-minute cancellations and a drop in revelations in hotels and campsites.
Overall, in 2016, France saw its number of bookings of foreign tourist nights fall by 10% and its number of flights to France by 20%. A total of 2.6 million fewer tourists between November 2015 and October 2016 in the French capital.
This is explained by the psychological factors that show that tourists will be wary of what they will call a risky destination and will tend to move towards safer destinations at the expense of those parts of the world that have been affected by the terrorist attacks
Impact on the French GPD
Tourism is a growth driver for France, this sector contributes 7.2% of French GDP and contributes 160 billion euros in 2015. It helps to boost the French economy and generate jobs (2 million jobs thanks to tourism).
Before the Nice terrorist attacks in 2016, tourism in the Provence Alpes Côtes d'Azur region represented 40% of the region's GDP and created 119,000 jobs for employees. Tourism is therefore a major player in the economy of this region. After the attack, the city of Nice recorded a loss of 20 to 25% of turnover in the tourism sector.
Other economic impacts
France is seeing a very slight decrease in its textile consumption. Indeed, it decreased by 1.8% at the end of 2016. According to Dominique Jocomet (Director General of the French Fashion Institute), it is the attacks that are behind this decline, although the weather is not in his favour.
Long-term impact
The attacks are not expected to leave any lasting impact on France's overall economic activity. Tourism is still weakened by the attacks, with the drop in the number of foreign visitors, but this situation is tending to improve. The Tourism Observatory has recorded a significant improvement in tourist numbers since the 2015 attacks, from 36.5% in 2016 to 41.4% in Greater Paris in 2017.
Solutions adopted by France to revitalize tourism
France has adopted a recovery plan to boost tourism in the Côte d'Azur region and in Paris. The aim is to strengthen the country's security but also to invest in communication campaigns aimed at giving a positive image of these destinations and calming the fear of foreign visitors towards France. Nearly 43 million euros have been invested in these campaigns <ref name="test" />. These have had a positive effect on regions that have seen their reservation volumes improve.
In addition, the increase in the "terrorism tax" has made it possible to finance these campaigns and also to finance the compensation funds for victims.<ref name="Nice" />

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