BRIC tourists unimpressed by French shopping, hotels

Paris at night: Tourists from BRIC countries are unimpressed PHOTO FROM FRANCETOURISM.COM

PARIS—Tourists from the BRIC group of emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China – are underwhelmed by the shopping and hotels in France, an economy ministry study said Tuesday.

France is the world’s top tourist destination, but only 50 percent of visitors from the BRIC nations said they were “very satisfied” with their visits – a figure that fell to just 39 percent for Chinese tourists and 43 percent for Indians, said the study, carried out with the French central bank.

The French tourism industry has “insufficiently adapted to the expectations of its clients,” the study said.

Overall, 62 percent of tourists were “very satisfied” and most others “satisfied” with their stay in France.

But visitors from France’s traditional tourist markets – Europe, Africa and North America – were notably more enthusiastic about their trips than those from other regions.

Just 48 percent of Asians said they were “very satisfied.”

Hotels are a weak point, the study found.

“Hotels are less satisfying than other forms of accommodation. Improving the hotel industry is therefore a challenge for the attractiveness of France as a destination,” it said.

BRIC tourists were also “disappointed by what is on offer in terms of shopping,” though they were satisfied with cultural activities, the study said.

The stakes are high for the industry, since the number of tourists from emerging economies has been swelling steadily and they can spend heavily, especially on luxury goods.

The study found France risks losing return visitors, particularly Asians, a large number of whom said they were unsure they would ever come back.