Le Monde a Paris - tourism expo this weekend in Paris is a MAP of the world
March 14, 2008
In Paris, tourism and world travel take center stage at exposition March 14, 15 and 16.
Those in Paris this weekend March 14-16 can travel the whole world at the Monde a Paris tourism expo. Today, Friday, is open only to tourism professionals, but on Saturday and Sunday everyone can “visit” 300 destinations worldwide at the Parc d’expositions in Paris’ Porte de Versailles. And those who want to see more of France will also find many exciting and interesting vacation destinations within France represented as well. The Salon expects over 15,000 tourism professionals and 100,000 of the public to attend le Monde a Paris this year.
Visitors to the Monde a Paris will find miles of stalls packed with 2,000 tour operators, airlines, tourist bureaus of cities in France and elsewhere, boat and car rental companies in France, hotels, cruise lines, and much more, all in one place in Paris. It’s a great place to hunt for vacation ideas or just to dream about where you’d like to go next.
Eco-tourism, which is the fastest-growing segment of tourism among the French and around the world, will have an accordingly larger presence this year. There are also more tours geared toward unique experiences, especially interacting with local cultures, something French people are becoming more interested in when they travel. Sport-related vacations are being touted, and even Club Med, the French inventor of the all-inclusive vacation, has reinvented itself. This year at Le Monde a Paris, Club Med is presenting a new, luxurious image, replacing its former summer-camp-for-adults offering. For those searching for out-of-the-ordinary experiences in France and around the world, vacations are on offer in French chateaux, tree-houses and even a prison converted into a comfortable hotel (in Quebec).
Travel and tourism pros in France and elsewhere might be expected to be in a somber mood this year; with fuel costs rising around the globe, everything from plane fares to car trips are becoming more expensive. But studies show that the leisure-loving French still consider their vacations a priority, so the tourism industry is not worried. Also, right now, with the unprecedented strength of the euro, foreign destinations, especially the US, are bargains for people in France. The euro recently hit a new high against the US dollar of $1.54. With many goods and hotels in the US having already been cheap relative to prices in France, the buying power of the French tourist in the US today is enormous, and cities like New York and San Francisco are seeing a boom in visitors from France.
And for those in France interested in working in the tourism industry, which some French studies say will be the number one industry in the world by the year 2020, there will be a meeting about employment opportunities in tourism following the Monde a Paris expo, on Monday at the Porte de Versailles in Paris.
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