Record year so far for Paris tourism

PARIS tourism officials have reported a record number of visitors to the capital in the first half of this year - and they are confident the trend will continue.

Some 7.7 million people enjoyed a holiday in the city in the six months to the end of June, up 3.5% on the same period in 2010, according to new figures from the tourist office.

Hotel occupancy rates rose to an average of 78.3% - the best level in a decade - and average revenue per room was up 11.6% year-on-year to €127.60.

The number of visitors from China is up 17.7% and South America is up 22.5%, according to the figures.

However, the rest of France has performed worse than forecast this summer, according to new data from tourism research body Protourisme.

It had expected a 4% rise in visitors this summer, but the final figure was up 2% because of the poor weather in July.