{"id":27954,"date":"2014-06-27T14:56:02","date_gmt":"2014-06-27T14:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=27954"},"modified":"2014-06-27T14:56:02","modified_gmt":"2014-06-27T14:56:02","slug":"france-admits-it-should-be-nicer-to-tourists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/06\/france-admits-it-should-be-nicer-to-tourists\/","title":{"rendered":"France admits it should be nicer to tourists"},"content":{"rendered":"
The French have long been known for their\u00a0less-than-cuddly attitudes<\/a>\u00a0toward foreigners and now the country is owning up to it.<\/p>\n Last week, Innovation Minister Fleur Pellerin\u00a0admitted France needs to change in order to be more welcoming toward tourists<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We must rediscover the meaning of hospitality,” she said at a tourism conference. “Everyone recognizes we can do better on the welcome and quality of service.”<\/p>\n The plan starts with a warm French welcome as tourists arrive at the airport.<\/p>\n “The first contact is often the determining factor<\/a>,” Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told conference attendees.<\/p>\n Officials also rolled out a multi-part “tourism action plan,” which will focus on five areas of tourist activity like “wine” and “sports.” They also announced plans to\u00a0keep more restaurants and shops open on Sundays<\/a>, renovate part of the famous Gare du Nord railway station, and make it easier to get to the airport from the city.<\/p>\n It’s all designed to make sure visitors leave with a good taste — not just one of frog legs — in their mouth.<\/p>\n “An unhappy tourist is a tourist that never comes back,” Fabius said at the conference.<\/p>\n His call to action is a step up from last year, when Parisian tourist officials circulated\u00a0a manual<\/a>\u00a0with tips (Smile at the Chinese! Call Brits by their first names!) on making tourists feel welcome in the capital. It also follows a series of incidents in which\u00a0pickpocketers dressed as tourists<\/a>\u00a0targeted foreign visitors.<\/p>\n