Many tourists, visitors and professionals alike see the Paris Region destination through the prism of its flagship assets, which attract tens of millions of visitors every year, making it one of the most visited destinations in the world. There are also many professionals in the sector who, after investing to be present in places that generate a large number of customers, have become accustomed to exceeding their objectives and having to turn away customers. But what happens the day the crisis sets in and the sector loses control of its destiny for a while?
Many of them have been looking for solutions to adapt and maintain their activity, others are struggling to survive and will have to evolve quickly. Finally, all of them are wondering about their customers and the best way to convince them, satisfy them, and thus build their loyalty. How can we better irrigate this area, which can offer many proposals to a variety of targets? What kind of sustainable tourism in Île-de-France? How can we develop the resilience of the destination, which is particularly affected by the consequences of the COVID 19 crisis, since "only" 20 million visitors are expected in 2020, compared with the more than 50 million who visited the capital region in 2019? What is the place of a hotel, restaurant, leisure or convention site in this ecosystem?
PARIS ÎLE-DE-FRANCE, A DESTINATION THAT IS OUTPERFORMING BUT WITH AN UNEVEN DISTRIBUTION OF CUSTOMERS
With 50.3 million tourist arrivals in 2019, Paris Île-de-France has for many years been at the top of the international podiumof destinations in terms of the number of tourists received.
Thus, after stagnating at around 32 million until 2015, the number of hotel arrivals had rebounded sharply by 2017, stabilising at around 35 million in 2018 (35.5) and 2019 (35.4).
The attractiveness of the City of Light and its assets is undeniable for a clientele of first-time visitors, some of whom dream of visiting the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre Museum. However, this large volume of arrivals conceals a strong disparity in the impact on the area, with a major concentration of tourists and visitors on certain sites that are the driving force behind the destination.
Outside Paris, only Disneyland Paris Park, the driving force behind eastern Paris, and the Versailles Domain are comparable in terms of attractiveness compared to the emblematic Parisian sites. The other sites outside Paris remain below the threshold of one million visitors per year.
The region benefits from extremely strong heritage, cultural and...
Paris
This content is for subscribers only. You have 80% left to discover.
Every week, the HON team brings you an expert look at the world of hospitality.
By becoming a member, you will have access to a complete ecosystem: exclusive content, jobs, etc.
BECOME A MEMBERAlready a member ? Login
