TORONTO — Navigating a new destination while dodging demonstrations and protests is a tough go for travellers, to say the least.
So no doubt visitors are now breathing a sigh of relief, along with residents, as calm returns to Paris and France’s other major cities. Last night’s curfews curtailed further rioting and looting after several days of clashes across France that saw more than 2,400 people arrested, in Paris, Lyon, Lille, Marseille and more.
Mélanie Paul-Hus, Director, Canada for Atout France, told Travelweek the focus yesterday was on “assessing the situation, cleaning up the damage and restoring affected areas to their original condition.”
She added that with only a few exceptions, public transportation is operating normally, museums and monuments are open and operating normally.
“Out of precaution, travellers are asked to check official information for the cities they are going to visit before travelling,” said Paul-Hus.
BUFFER TIME FOR CDG TRANSFERS & EXCURSIONS RE-ROUTED
France is no stranger to protests, and the country’s proud standing as the number one most-visited destination in the world, according to the UNWTO, won’t be dented by a weekend of riots and looting.
Nevertheless clients seeing the violent images on TV and social media feeds and wondering about further disruptions may have questions.
Travelweek connected with two tour operators to find out how they handled ground operations in France this past weekend.
Marc Sison, VP, Europe North at Goway, said logistics and on-the-go flexibility were key in making sure disruptions were minimized for in-destination clients.
“We’ve been able assist our guests in creating buffer time with transfers in and out of CDG to anticipate delays, re-routing excursions that are affected by road and metro closures, and making adjustments on museum and attraction closures,” said Sison, giving credit to Goway’s 24/7 Customer Experience team as well as the company’s local partners in France.
He added: “The key message from Goway to our staff as well as our travel agent partners is that we don’t want to downplay this situation, but at the same time, we want to be realistic in what is actually happening on the ground. The protests were localized in just a few arrondissements, so the impact to our travellers that were in Paris on Oct. 17 were minimal. In fact, we’ve had excursions in Paris that day that went on as planned.”
MORE PROTESTS RUMOURED FOR NOVEMBER
Sison said most hotels, restaurants, attractions, and museums were operating normally yesterday despite some road and metro closures over the weekend.
He’s heard word that there could be more protests coming. “We’re keeping a close eye on the situation as intel from France suggests there might be another planned protest early in November, but as always, we are here to assist.”
Gateways International’s Director, Marketing & Operations, Talia May, told Travelweek that while Saturday’s events were significant, tours operated normally on Sunday and Monday.
“Protests and disruptions do arise from time to time and our partners on the ground pivot as needed,” said May.
She added: “Travellers heading to Paris right now should pack their patience and expect that itineraries may be adjusted. We suggest monitoring the Government of Canada’s travel advisories for France before and during their trip at travel.gc.ca/destinations/
