Paris (CNN) — Summer is in full swing in Paris and the entrance square to the Louvre is busy with vendors selling water or Eiffel Tower souvenirs. Among them, US tourist Chris Walkley is enjoying his first visit to France, taking selfies with his girlfriend by the art museum’s glass pyramid.
“Paris definitely lived up to its reputation,” says Walkley, from Boston. “Food’s been great. Everyone’s been very hospitable.”
For Walkley, traveling to France has been a symbol of getting his life back to normal after two years of restrictions and disruptions caused by the pandemic. “I feel like things are back on track,” he adds with a smile.
For France, Walkley’s presence is a symbol of optimism.
He’s just one of the tens of thousands of Americans expected to visit Paris this summer, bringing a widespread sense of relief to a tourism industry battered by Covid and the sanctions-induced loss of the wealthy Russians who regularly flock to its hotspots.
North America is projected to be the biggest contributor to the Parisian tourism market this summer, according to the city’s government, with booking levels almost back to pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
“The Americans are doing the job,” said Frédéric Hocquard, Paris deputy mayor for tourism.
“Meaning that they are coming back en masse and with a lot of money to spend.”
They’re back!
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat Mayor Jean-François Dieterich says Russian tourists have been replaced by others.
Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou/CNN
Even outside of Paris, from north to south, tourist workers and government officials across France are chanting the same enthusiastic message — the Americans are back!
This was the front page headline of the Nice Matin, a prominent French Riviera newspaper, on July 6. “They are spending without counting after two years of restrictions,” it reported.
On average, American tourists, mostly visiting in groups, are each spending $402 (400 euros) per day in France, bringing the budget for a 10-day visit to a stunning $7,687, way ahead of any other foreign tourists, according to a report did by research company GfK for Visa.
The Americans are especially important this year for the south of France along the Mediterranean, whose beautiful coastlines have long been a paradise harboring many wealthy Russian vacationers.
The department of Alpes-Maritime, home to the sun-kissed likes of Nice and Cannes, was projected to lose $50.4 million in 2022 due to the absence of the Russian tourists who descended on towns like…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CNN.com – RSS Channel – App Travel Section…