Indians still prefer to visit the 'City of Light'

The terror attacks in France may have shook the world at large, and also led to closure of some of the prominent tourist places in the country, including the Eiffel Tower. However, the attacks are unlikely to impact tourists inflow into the country from India, according to experts.

“France enjoys favoured destination status with our discerning Indian audiences, and interestingly, requests if at all, are for trip rescheduling; merely a very small minority for cancellation. Our teams are collaborating with both the airlines and local partners (for stay, sightseeing and transport) to waive/minimise charges,” Thomas Cook India senior vice president and head - sales and distribution, Leisure Travel (Outbound) Jatinder Paul Singh told Deccan Herald.

Regular updates

Paul also clarified that entries of Indians with a valid Schengen visa have not been impacted due to the events.

“Our head office operations centre is in touch with the France Tourism Board and their regular updates are clear that contrary to hearsay, entries of Indian nationals holding a valid Schengen visa are not affected; also that French consular services across India continue to function normally, and are issuing visas for France to Indian nationals,” Paul said.

“France is one of the top tourism destinations from India and we do not believe that it will impact tourism from India. In the next couple of days, most of the tourist attractions will open and normalcy would return,” Karan Anand, Head Relationships, Cox and Kings told Deccan Herald.