Paris is renowned for its fine wines and haute cuisine. Food and drink entices international visitors to Paris and (J.R Ritchie 2003) states, “The French penchant for fine cuisine and social discourse has resulted in a tourism and hospitality industry that is characterized in part, by wonderful restaurants and streetside cafes.”
Another attraction is Paris’ Fashion culture. Famous fashion houses like Louis Vuiton, Hugo Boss and Chanel are situated in the Champs Elysee. According to (G.J Asworth 2000) for many tourists, “The objective of the trip is not so much the purchase of specific goods as the enjoyment of observation, comparison and possibly the largely unplanned purchase of goods”.
ENTERTAINMENT AND SPECIAL EVENTS
“The strength of the entertainment may itself be the primary appeal of the destination. (J.R. Ritchie 2003)
For tourists who enjoy organised tours, there are so many to choose from such as “Paris by Day”, “Paris by Night”, Cityrama tours on open top buses, Seine river cruises, historical tours, romantic tours, shopping tours, etc. For those who prefer to organise their own activities and discover the real soul of Paris there is much on offer, for example the Parisian style cabaret at the Moulin Rouge, opera or ballet at the theatres, the variety of live music at the many clubs and bars; visiting food and flower markets, shopping in fashionable boutiques or antique flea markets etc.
Paris offers events throughout the year to ensure it is a year round destination. Sporting events are held such as the rugby “Six Nations”, the “UEFA Champions League” football tournament and the “Tour de France.” There are many political national holidays such as “Bastille Day”. According to P. Yale 1997 “Bastille Day (14th July) is an exciting day to be in Paris with Red, White, and blue balloons floating over the city and music everywhere.” With so many events on throughout the year it’s not surprising that so many people visit Paris to experience the atmosphere.
(J.R Ritchie 2003) states, “The various special events offered by a destination create much of the dynamics and uniqueness that make a destination memorable.”
EXAMINING HOW CULTURE IS BEING COMMERCIALISED IN PARIS
Paris is one of the cultural capitals of the world, awarded “European City of Culture” in 1989. Many of Paris’s cultural attractions are becoming highly commercialised. Tourists to the Eiffel tower pay admission and are confronted throughout the visit with strategically positioned restaurants, souvenir shops, cafés, internet access stations and photo booths. Surrounding the Eiffel tower are souvenir stands and street vendors selling distasteful souvenirs.
Other super structures and monuments have been similarly commercialised. Notre Dame Cathedral has free entry but requests that tourists pay for climbing the tower, confession, candles, souvenir prayer books, interactive hand-held guides, postcards and memorabilia. The Arc de Triomphe charges admission to walk to the top to view the city and the Louvre charges admission and has maximised purchasing opportunities with shops, cafes and interactive hand held guides all geared towards tourists.
There has been further exploitation of cultural attractions through best selling books like “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown with organised tours guiding visitors around locations featured in the book ; “With your private guide, you will retrace Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu’s footsteps as they decipher clues hidden in Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpieces” (Paris Tour Guides 2006). There are many other organised tours e.g. “Panoramic city tour of monuments with photo stops” (Paris Tour Guides 2006) and these tours exploit monuments and historical sites for financial gain.
Films have also become a useful commercial marketing tool, attracting tourists from all over the globe. Hollywood blockbusters such as “French Kiss” with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline and “Forget Paris” with Billy Crystal and Debra Winger have promoted Paris worldwide as a romantic destination. Other famous films set in Paris such as Moulin Rouge and Amelie have drawn tourists to their famous film sets such as the “Moulin Rouge club and The Two Windmills café where Amelie was a waitress in the film.
“Bastille Day” is highly commercialised, attracting many tourists to Paris. According to (M Bauer 1996) “Festivals are slowly turning into tourist products organized and sold to specific market segments”.
Commercialisation of Paris has developed in order to compete with other city destinations e.g. London and Rome. (G Richard 2001) “success in cultural tourism will increasingly depend on who can deliver the best cultural experiences”. This means much of Paris is devoted to tourism but there is a danger of over-commercialisation and this could deter visitors. (G Richard 2001) states “Cultural attractions will have to find their own balance between commercial and cultural concerns”.
Furthermore, over-commercialisation could be its demise since “A destination’s culture can be exploited to the extent that it becomes divorced from the inhabitants everyday life, and is degraded and devalued in the process”. (R. Davidson 1992)
RESIDENTIAL ANTAGONISM TOWARDS TOURISM AND TOURISTS IN PARIS
During the fieldtrip visit to Paris questionnaires (see page 19) were distributed to many resident Parisians all of whom had some connection with the Tourism and Hospitality industry. From the questionnaires handed out only six were completed so no general conclusions could be reached but it did give a brief snapshop of how tourists are perceived in the French capital.
Tourists visiting Paris are viewed in both a positive and negative light. On the positive side, international tourists generate much revenue and the questionnaire results indicated that this was important to all residents. (J.R Ritchie 2003) states, ”Many destinations however, do endeavour to promote the economic significance to residents with a goal of gaining their support as well as encouraging friendly and hospitable behaviour”.
The French government dedicates funding to regeneration of areas and architecture to help improve the appearance of the city, making it aesthetically pleasing to visitors. (R. Davidson 1992) states, “Towns and cities can be made more attractive, such as through building and renovation and preservation schemes or the planting of trees and flowers to increase their visual appeal to visitors.”
Tourism creates new facilities and services which make the city tourist friendly, clean and aesthetically pleasing while benefiting local Parisians in their everyday lives. While tourism creates jobs and increases employment it also offers educational opportunities and training for residents. According to (R. Davidson 1992) ”Tourism development can be accompanied by an improvement in the educational infrastructure of a country or region with improved training opportunities to equip the host population, with the skills they need to work in tourism”. Tourism also supports local business ventures e.g. restaurants, bars, shops and hotels etc., with most revenue generated from international tourists visiting Paris.
Tourism also has a negative side. It causes much pollution in various forms e.g. litter, fumes from tourists’ vehicles, tour buses, boats etc. Tourists also produce an influx of sewage waste from increased numbers staying in the capital. According to (S. Page 1995) “Pollution of the local ecosystem from sewage, by litter and too many visitors in the peak season may also pose serious problems for the destination”. Tourists cause overcrowding within the city centre. Residents may see tourists as the direct cause of this pollution and resent their presence because of this.
Over development threatens Paris with many new buildings under construction and this causes urban sprawl and overcrowding within the city centre. (R. Davidson 1992) “Europe abounds in examples of places where the natural and built environment has been degraded or destroyed by uncontrolled tourist development.”
Tourism can also cause resentment and racism from residents because affluent international tourists may be perceived as superior to local residents. (R Davidson 1992) states, ”Tourism can also bring social imbalance and racial tensions in its wake”. (R Davidson 1992)” The constant presence of vast numbers of demanding tourists from wealthier countries can create an unhealthy mixture of resentment, envy and dissatisfaction.”
Residents attitudes to tourism can be demonstrated in Doxeys Irridex (S.Page 1995)
Euphoria - visitors and investors are welcomed with open arms and little
or no planning has been put in place for tourism.
Apathy - tourists are neglected and taken for granted by residents and
there is a heavy marketing scheme to draw more tourists.
Annoyance - residents start to see the negatives in the tourist industry
due to the amount of tourists arriving.
Antagonism - residents openly expressing what they think of tourists and becoming increasingly annoyed at their presence.
There is little residential antagonism to tourists in central Paris as residents who live here are affluent people, but within the suburbs “les banlieues” and outskirt ghettos where there is crime, poverty and vandalism there is some negativity in these areas. Crime and anti-social behaviour is also generated in tourist areas e.g. pick pockets, beggars, illegal buskers and unlicensed traders selling counterfeit goods.
THE FUTURE OF TOURISM IN PARIS
In the 2005 report “Tourism 2020 Vision” the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) forecasts that tourism in Europe will more than double in the period 1995 – 2020. Qualitative research for this study (gathered from key players such as tour operators, airlines, tourist offices etc.) revealed that the competition between cities in Europe will increase over the next five to ten years. They also predict that European cities as cultural destinations will experience more competition from cities in Asia, North and/or South America.
“City Tourism and Culture: The European Experience” commissioned jointly by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the European Travel Commission (ETO)” in 2004 reported that although city cultural tourism continues to be dominated by the established “Cultural Capitals” they are likely to lose market share to “new destinations” with innovative cultural products and services. If Paris wishes to stay ahead of the competition, product development will become a key issue. One of the conclusions in the report was:
“The development of a “creative destination” linking traditional cultural products, services and heritage with the creative industries (e.g. media and entertainment, design, architecture and fashion) will become progressively more important in terms of the competitive advantages of cities as cultural tourism destinations.”
Although Paris is already achieving success with this approach, more creative marketing, moving away from its traditional image, will ensure that Paris remains a popular city destination.
Future events such as France Rugby world cup 2007 will generate a large amount of international tourism with 20 international teams competing from all over the globe “In 2007 Paris will be crowned the capital of rugby” (IRB 06). With so many fans coming to watch the games there will need to be a plan to increase transport, accommodation and catering to accommodate the mass influx of tourists.
Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and the Internet continue to revolutionise the Tourism and Travel industry. This technology will continue to develop to provide the tourist with current information, visiting hours, tickets etc. offering information in the language of the traveller.
Tourism brings many benefits. The anticipated growth in city tourism over the next decade will have a positive economic effect but the negative aspects must also be considered. An imbalance between a large influx of tourists and the number of inhabitants can cause a decrease in the hospitality level and this can negatively affect the cultural heritage Paris has to offer. While visitor numbers to Paris are predicted to increase, the size of the city and its attractions will not. Paris must therefore develop a clear strategy regarding the development of tourism in the city and visitor management will be a key issue. It is vital that the authenticity and sense of nostalgia that Paris has to offer is protected for cultural tourists - authenticity is not only based on what the tourist sees, but also on the quality of the experience. Visitor management can play a crucial role in protecting both the cultural heritage in physical terms as well as the experience of this heritage in the eyes of the visitor.
Conclusion
Paris’ grands projets investments have been extremely successful in rejuvenating its image and economy. Although Paris does not face the prospect of immediate or sudden decline, it must compete with other locations in greater and more direct competition than ever before. Staying ahead requires a combination of long term vision and investment in physical improvements – transport, environment, buildings and tourist attractions and many other things to improve the efficiency and quality of the services that Paris provides to the international market place. It will require public and private investment, but it will ensure that Paris remains a world city in thirty of fifty years time, when so much else in the world has changed.
References
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