For its second year, Tourism Day becomes Tourism Week. Initiated by the Visitors Bureau, the Paris Convention and the Paris City Hall, Tourism Week aims to bring together Parisians, tourism professionals and visitors to Paris.


Paris, the world capital of tourism, wishes to give a warm welcome to its visitors and to show its inhabitants the importance of this welcome.


Several priorities are being put forward through this event in order to make Paris remain the « the most visited city in the world » :

Involve the Parisians, show them the importance, the benefits and the necessity of the tourism economy

Guarantee a quality welcome by tourism professionals

Propose a sign of welcome and share interesting tourist information through varied documentation of the main players in the world of tourism

By organising the edition of Tourism Week, with the participation of Pentax, Email Diamant, Adagio and MasterCard, the Visitors Bureau, the Paris Convention and Paris City Hall hope to make this event an essential one for both tourists and Parisians.

This operation is represented by a strong symbol of sharing and good mood : « PARIS SMILES FOR YOU! »

Paris, a city with a heart, at the heart of Europe, and an entry point for discovering France, reaffirms its image as the international leader in tourism with 28 million foreign tourists (having stayed at least one night). Tourism, a major economic factor for Paris with nearly 150 000 employees, represents nearly 12% of direct employment. When we consider direct and indirect employment, we find that one job in five is more or less linked to the tourism sector.

Despite the very good results of the different surveys for tourist welcome, Paris and the tourism professionals are actively working all year round to meet the demands of visitors and prove preconceived ideas untrue. For Tourism Week, all Parisian professionals wish to give a warm welcome to everyone around the centralising element that is the smile.


And if tourism in Paris didn’t exist ? Perhaps then…

1 job on 5 would be delated
The Eiffel Tower would have been dismantled, as originally planned
The price of public transport would be much higher
Orsay would nothing more than the name of a station
The great departement stores would be 25 to 30% smaller
Café terraces would be half-empty
A pyramid would not have appeared in the middle of the Louvre
The Moulin Rouge would only be the name of a painting
Paris, city of lights, would be in the dark during festivities


97% % of visitors say they will return to Paris
86% of visitors are pleased with their stay in Paris
74% of visitors are are able to make themselves understood in English

The program for the week

Tourism has place of honour in the capital where a number of events will be taking place. Find the entire program and offers for Paris convention and visitors bureau's members here




Human smile« PARIS SMILES FOR YOU ! »

In the manner of recent flash-mob events, the Visitors Bureau and the Paris Convention is organising a giant smile composed of the personnel of the main players, addressing a message of welcome to the entire world « PARIS SMILES FOR YOU ! »





Points of welcome especially for the occasion

Welcoming kiosks set up where you can discover all about the operation « PARIS SMILES FOR YOU ! » and other activities




Download the photos taken at the smile spots

« Pentax, partner for all smiles, has created and set up a photo event for the operation « PARIS SMILES FOR YOU ! ». You have been photographed at one of the smile spots… Discover and download your photo by clicking on this link. »





Competition : « Your idea for a Parisian smile »

Win lots of prizes during the « PARIS SMILES FOR YOU ! » operation by taking part in the competition organised by Email Diamant, whitening partner of dazzling smiles.





Press Area

This area is reserved for journalists wishing to learn more about the event. You will find here the press file, press releases and the event logo, as well as different photos put on line during the course of the week





Partners

The activities that will take place during the operation « PARIS SMILES FOR YOU ! » and the promotions that surround it have received financial support from numerous partners. We wish to thank them for their support that has made this Tourism Week possible

(PDF file format)

(PDF file format)