Paris, one of the most visited cities in the world has regained its mojo as the number of tourists to the city of light and love returned to the pre-wave of terrorist attacks on the city.
Paris, experienced drastic reduction in the number of visitors after the city suffered wave of terrorist attacks. Tourism rebounded last year by nearly 20 percent, returning to pre-terrorism levels, according to figures by the French capital’s official tourism office.
Tourism was one of the collateral victims of jihadist attacks that devastated the city, starting in January 2015 with the deadly Charlie Hebdo shooting. Islamist terrorism shattered the city in November 2015 when gunmen attacked Paris bars and restaurants, the Bataclan concert hall, and the Stade de France sports arena on the outskirts of the city.
French nationals, especially business travellers, are largely responsible for the increase, data showed. But international visitors are also coming back in record numbers.
Tourists at the Eiffel Tower
Despite the understandable dip in the wake of the violence, tourism from the United States and China has now even surpassed the levels seen before the attacks. Visits from the US rose by 25 percent, and from China by 41 percent, the data for 2016 showed.
“There have never been so many American and Chinese people checking into hotels in the Paris region,” the Paris tourism office said.
In another public relations win, Paris was declared the world’s top student city by the website Top Universities.
