Tourism: London Paris leaves behind

In 2014, the British capital has emerged as by far the most visited city by foreigners. Paris retains the title of the most visited city in the world if we take into account the French who have stayed there.

There is one year, the two capitals were still neck-and-neck. But this time, doubt is no longer permitted. London is well and truly become the city that attracts the most foreign in the world. This is clear from the official statistics for 2014.

Last year, 17.4 million international tourists visited the British capital, an increase of 3.5% over 2013. The City of Light has it, saw its attendance drop slightly (16.57 million against 16 6 in 2013), for the first time since 2004.

Paris in a "stabilization phase"

This is also the first time that the figures are roughly comparable, since the same calculation method was used. The French survey, conducted by the Regional Committee of Tourism Ile-de-France now takes account of hotel arrivals (at least one night in the hotel) but also other types of accommodation (tourist residence Type rentals Airbnb, exchange of apartments ...). The British, through the Office for National Statistics were using this method for a long time.

As was the case during the municipal campaign a year ago, the defenders of the French capital are sure to emphasize the difference in area between the two compared areas even if we now compare Greater London (1,572 km²-8 4 million) at the Grand Paris (819 km², 6.7 million inhabitants). "It's always difficult to make a comparison, and I do not really like the rankings," tick and Nicolas Lefebvre, general director of the Office of Tourism and Congress of Paris. While admitting that the French capital is "rather a phase of stabilization". Or even slightly down.

London boosted by the Tour de France ...

For its part, London is on the rise for years. The most populous city in Europe take on the momentum of the 2012 Olympic Games, which had altered the city in depth. The British tourism office also cites pell-mell events organized around the centenary of the First World War, exhibitions of all kinds having a great success but, ironically ... the Tour de France .

The table is however not so dark for light city. For if one counts the French visitors, are 32.1 million tourists who slept at least one night in Paris in 2014. London, which does not count the British visitors in its statistics, lags far behind. It would, in Nicolas Lefebvre, "around 28 million visitors." Cocorico.
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