The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, released her new tourism plan to boost the sector after the hard blow of terrorist attacks. The Mayor presented 59 concrete actions spread across four major axes, focusing on renovation, promotion, as well as online services for the visitors.
Among the most important initiatives of the new tourism plan, the city of Paris proposes to renovate the existing buildings, to create seven “tourist territories” (not to be confused with the tourist zones, where work on Sunday is permitted), and to “affirm the role” of the Parisian nightlife, which is notoriously problematic.
This axis also details the promotion of the Made in Paris brand, in order to strengthen business tourism, to develop “green tourism” of woods, parks, and gardens, and to erect new tourist districts.
Finally, the first axis also promises to develop the banks of the Seine and the canals of the city and to envision there the possibility of swimming.
Improve the Quality of Visitor Experience
Another improvement regards the reduction of waiting times in tourist areas. The focus will be put on the dematerialization of tickets within the capital. A new hotline and online assistance for tourists is also part of the tourism plan. Visitors will have WiFi access throughout the capital.
The city of Paris also plans to obtain the title “Destination for All,” a distinction awarded by the Ministry of Tourism to destinations which develop their tourism offers to accommodate people with disabilities or handicaps.
A symbolic initiative is the “regulation of the development of tourist homes,” which targets, unsurprisingly, Airbnb, of which Paris is the largest market. The tourist plan also promises to analyze the impact of tourist areas on the Parisian ecosystem after the city modified its position on the Sunday work which these areas now allow.
Other initiative that should interest transporters is the implementation of a mobility coach which is “more environmentally friendly and better integrated to public space,” coupled with an incentive to use public transportation. As for taxis and VTC, the Mayor’s statement speaks only of developing the “quality of the supply,” without further precision.
High-Performance Destination
According to the new tourism plan, the city will offer a “federation of ecosystem of Parisian tourism” in a committee for the destination of Paris, as well as “support for training and employment,” a “stimulation of innovation” of the industry, and everything else to put tourism at the heart of the international strategy of the city.
Paris will also implement a hotel supply development plan in order to reach 142,000 rooms in the metropolis by 2024, which is consistent with an improvement in the capacity of travel by air, rail, and road.