France hit by tourist boycott

JACQUES Chirac’s opposition to the war in Iraq and the desecration of Allied graves by anti-British vandals have ended France’s reign as the UK’s favourite holiday destination.

A loss of 300,000 visitors and a 25 per cent drop in bookings in a month mean Spain is now officially Britain’s top tourist venue after 14 years in second place.

The French president’s anti-war stance and the "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" factor in the United States has also caused a decline in the number of US tourists. Tension between the UK and France increased two weeks ago when protesters desecrated a cemetery in northern France, daubing memorials with graffiti.

Holidaymakers are actively boycotting France, according to Holidaylets.net, which has 2,000 homes to rent.

Internet searches for France have dropped significantly, according to Ross Hugo, the managing director, who said his sales teams have indicated French attitudes, and the unsavoury incident involving Second World War graves had hardened attitudes.

"Our understanding is that this [drop[ is due to political tensions," he added.

Around 12.6 million Britons have visited Spain in the last year while visits to France fell to 11.7 million from more than 12 million. Owen Davies, the marketing director of the Individual Travellers’ Company, said: "Spain has held up well but France is down."

A spokeswoman for the French tourist office in London admitted UK bookings were "sluggish" and that there had been a downturn in US visitors.

But some British companies are describing the "downturn" as a drastic decline.

And Chez Nous, a leading seller of French accommodation, has had cancellations since the war began, where customers said Mr Chirac’s "obstruction" was the reason.

Another French firm - Bonnes Vacances Direct - said anti-French media coverage had noticeably affected inquiries.

Marcelle Spell, of Holiday-rentals.com, added: "If a third of French people - as reports have suggested - wanted Saddam to win, and they go on desecrating war graves, then there may be a bad reaction."

By the time the war started, the major tour operators had reduced the number of international holidays on offer by 15 per cent.

Some smaller companies took the same defensive tactic, but inevitably it has led to special deals aimed at enticing holidaymakers.

One holiday, an activity break in the Dordogne, which includes archery, sailing, abseiling and windsurfing, has been discounted by nearly 1,000.

The 1,500 holiday is on offer to a family of five for 500 for a week on full board.

As well as philosophical reasons not to travel to France, the industry worldwide has been badly affected, especially on long-haul holidays, which may need to fly over trouble spots.

Many British holidaymakers have taken a decision not to travel or at least delay their foreign holiday this year because they perceive going abroad in the present climate of global uncertainty may not be safe.

George Ellis, the chairman of Canvas holidays in Scotland, one of the major tour operators to France, said: "Short breaks and camping holidays to France are 17 per cent down and self catering is between 8 per cent and 14 per cent down.

Mr Ellis, who is also chairman of the Association of British Tour Operators to France, which has 180 member companies offering holidays, added: "There’s no doubt the Iraq war has affected the holiday trade in general.

"But, in the case of France, there are two other factors, which may help the situation. The first is that, when the events in Iraq settle, France may be viewed as a safe place to holiday because of its anti-war stand.

"Second, there are a lot of Britons who did not agree with the war against Iraq and they well be will be sympathetic to France’s attitude and decide to go there.

"That combination may produce a comeback later in the season, but as to the strength of that comeback, that is anyone’s guess.

"And there isn’t anything to indicate that 2004 is going to be a bumper year even though things tend to settle down eventually."

A spokesperson for the French tourist office said she "was confident that France will hold its own", but she admitted her organisation had delayed a major family holiday marketing campaign for at least another month.