After attack, 50% likely to call off Paris trip

The multiple terror attacks in Paris, estimated to have killed more than 128, could cause around 50 per cent cancellations in travel from India to France and other countries in Europe during the Christmas-New Year travel season. Paris is a popular destination for tourists visiting Europe.

Last year France received 400,000 Indian visitors. Following the attack, French authorities have decided to shut the iconic Eiffel Tower, a popular tourist spot, indefinitely. 

“This is worse than what happened in Mumbai in November 2008 and it sends out a signal that nobody is safe anywhere. Tourism is a fragile industry. People skip travelling to a place when they are safety issues and the confidence is shaken. Paris is very popular with Indians during the Christmas and New Year period,” said Ajay Prakash, former president, Travel Agents' Federation of India (Tafi). Prakash said at least 40-50 per cent of tourists would to cancel their plans to visit Paris.
 

TRIP CANCELLED

• Paris is one of the must-visit destinations for tourists visiting Europe
• At least 40-50 per cent of tourists expected to cancel their plans to visit Paris
• Business travel likely to see only a marginal impact
• There have been reports of France deciding not to allow entry of people whose

He, however, added that business travel would see only a marginal impact as people could not avoid work-related visits for long. Businessmen, especially garment manufacturers, travel to Europe around this time as Christmas is a high-demand season.



The Christmas-New Year season, while being a popular season for Indian tourists to visit Europe, including France, is not the peak time for travellers from India. April-to-July is considered the peak travel period for outbound travel to Europe due to moderate weather and summer vacation for school children in India.

Tour companies are bracing for cancellations. MakeMyTrip had a group tour to Europe starting on Monday and the trip has been cancelled following the attack in Paris. “We contacted all our customers, who have opted for rescheduling the trip at a later date,” said Rajesh Magow, MakeMyTrip CEO-India.

France has restored with immediate effect systematic checks at its border. However,  entry  of Indian nationals holding a valid Schengen visa is not affected, France Tourism Development Agency said in a statement.



Sharat Dhall, president of travel portal Yatra, said, “This is a significant incident. There will be a short-term impact. Paris is one of the biggest travel destinations. We are definitely seeing postponement from people who were planning to travel in the next 10-15 days, but had not done bookings. So far, there has been no cancellation as such. Last-minute cancellation charges are quite high”.

Dhall said there would be an immediate impact on tourists who are currently in France.

“A number of public monuments will be closed due to security reasons and movement of tourists will be restricted.”



“We have started receiving cancellations. Travel agents are anxious. We still do not know whether the hotels will waive cancellation charges,” said Guldeep Singh Sahni, president, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India.

Paris is a favourite destination for tourists from India and the destination is a part of all the group tours from India. In the 10-months ending October, the French Embassy in India issued 120,000 visas.

“We do not have any groups in Paris at the moment and this is also the lean season for travel to Europe,” said a Cox & Kings spokesperson.

“Our teams have been working in close coordination with our on-ground tour managers and partners in France. Our customers and tour manager in Paris are safe and we are in contact with them to ensure their safety and return to their homes,” said Madhavan Menon, managing director, Thomas Cook India.