Paris Is Always More than Paris by Sue Curry Jansen

Paris Is Always More than Paris by Sue Curry Jansen

Paris has always been a destination for traders, students and those on religious pilgrimages, but its 'tourist industry' began on a large scale only with the appearance of rail travel, namely from state organisation of France's rail network from 1848. Among Paris's first mass attractions drawing international interest were, from 1855, the above-mentioned Expositions Universelles that would bring Paris many new monuments, namely the Eiffel Tower from 1889. These, in addition to the capital's Second Empire embellishments, did much to make the city itself the attraction it is today. Paris's museums and monuments are among its highest-esteemed attractions; tourism has motivated both the city and national governments to create new ones. The city's most prized museum, the Louvre, welcomes over 8 million visitors a year, being by far the world's most visited art museum. (Mordal 2009)

Sue Curry Jansen focuses on issues of freedom of expression broadly conceived, including relationships of power to knowledge, social conditions and institutional arrangements that promote democratic communication and active citizen participation in policy making. She is co-editor of Media & Social Justice (forthcoming, 2011); she is the author of two books, Critical Communication Theory (2002) and Censorship: The Knot that Binds Power and Knowledge (1988, 1991) and co-author of Humanism in Sociology: Historical Roots and Contemporary Problems (1978)

TOURISM in Paris is booming, bucking a generally gloomy trend for the industry this year.

In many regions figures for the first half of 2012 are poor - put down to the economic crisis and poor weather; however the Paris tourist office estimates its year will end with record visitor figures, up 1.5% on last year. (Thorton 2010)

This is partly thanks to more visitors from the traditional markets, attracted by favourable euro exchange rates, such as Britons (503,000 in the first half of the year; up 8%), Americans (670,000; up 15%), Japanese (251,300; up 6%) and Swiss (154,000; 24%).

Visitors from some of the emerging markets were also up strongly: China (76,000, up 15%) and Asia in general (607,000, up 12%), Latin America (283,000, up 7%) or the Middle East (140,800, up 20%). Actual numbers of Chinese visitors may be much higher than those cited due to the fact many stay outside Paris and travel in, the tourist office says.

European visitors were up 1%, at 2.2 million, though ones from crisis-hit Spain were down 22% (193,000). There were 3.6 million French visitors, down 3.2%, out of a total 7.76 million visitors. (Jansen 2007)

With about 42 million tourists per year (28 in city proper),Paris is the third most visited city in the world after Orlando and New York City, and the first by international visitors (with about 17 million in city proper). The city and its region contain 3,800 historical monuments and four UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The most famous attractions include Notre Dame de Paris, Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Pompidou Centre, Musée d'Orsay, Champs-Élysées, ...