(TAN): The French tourism sector took a blow after the flow of Chinese tourists to the country dropped following the spread of coronavirus outside of China, reports said.
According to reports, France receives two million visitors from China every year, touted to be the biggest spenders that account for a huge slice of the tourism market – while they make up for just 2.5% of all tourists entering France, they contribute 7% of the country’s total dividend from tourism that amounts to EUR 4 billion (USD 4.41 billion approximately).
Also, Chinese visitors are reportedly responsible for a third of sales in the country’s luxury goods sector, owing to which Paris-based stores specialising in luxury goods could suffer losses.
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The Chinese New Year, a busy time for Chinese tourists for travelling into France, has also been hit, reports said. This year, the Lunar New Year celebrations are between January 25 and February 8.
President of the Chinese Association of Travel Agents in France (ACAV), Pierre Shi reportedly said the agency will endure massive losses.
“…our activities have been abruptly suspended, there will be enormous losses as this is happening during China’s longest holidays when the Chinese have a two weeks off to travel. Under normal circumstances, this time of year would be when we would be welcoming [the Chinese], which is low season in Europe,” Shi was quoted by rfi as saying.
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Sales figures for the 50 agencies that attract up to 150,000 Chinese visitors to France and Europe within ACAV went down by 33%, a report said. The report said ACAV was planning to tag a specific number of employees “temporarily unemployed” after travel provisions for the first quarter of 2020 were cancelled.
Meanwhile, the daughter of a Chinese tourist became the fifth individual in France to be confirmed with the coronavirus, reports said. Her father, age 80, was reportedly the fourth confirmed case who is currently admitted in a Paris hospital.
“A fifth case has been detected. It’s the daughter of the Chinese tourist who was hospitalised recently in intensive care in a serious condition,” Health Minister Agnes Buzyn was quoted by The Straits Times as saying.
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She reportedly added that the woman in her thirties, “whose condition has worsened, who needs oxygen”, has also been put in intensive care.
“We now have five cases, out of which two are under surveillance,” Reuters quoted Buzyn as saying.
The coronavirus has so far killed over 130 people and sickened over 6,000, as per reports.
