Nice is the second most popular destination in France among foreign tourists (with the first place going to Paris, of course). Every year the city receives about 10 million guests. Russian tourists, like others, give Nice the second place after Paris. In 2011 about 54 thousand visitors came to Nice from Russia, making it the fifth biggest tourist supplier for the destination.
During a press-conference that took place last Wednesday, Head of the Tourism Office of Nice, Deni Zanon said that Russian and American tourists share the first place in the top spenders chart. Next up are visitors from Switzerland and China.
The overall inbound tourist flow is evenly divided between Frenchmen and foreigners: 50/50. The Russian part of the market is growing fast: the dynamic between 2010 and 2011 was a 36% increase in visitors from Russia, amounting to 54 thousand trips and 167 thousand hotel room bookings. Mr. Zanon says that due to the economic crisis of 2012, tourists from Italy, Greece and Spain have reduced their activity. Frenchmen are still interested, but they tend to save money. And at the same time Russian, American, Swiss and Chinese tourists keep spending a lot.
According to Deni Zanon, tourists spend most of their money on restaurants. And the second place goes to the boutiques. But it’s not only fine dining and shopping that attract visitors. Excursions, museums, fairs, beach and ski resorts and many interesting events throughout the year keep the destination popular.
Recently Russian tourists received an alternative to flying to Nice. The new train route from Moscow to Nice, which was launched in September 2010 by the Federal Passenger Company, has already served more than 15 thousand tourists. The train departs from the Belorussky Terminal in Moscow every Thursday and returns from Nice every Saturday. The tracks stretch for 3315 km (2060 mi), which makes Moscow-Nice the longest train route in Europe. Andrey Kaliberdin, Deputy General Manager of the Federal Passenger Company, said in an interview to RATA-News: “The train crosses seven countries on its way. The journey used to take 52 hours, but we managed to shorten it to 48 hours. The number of passengers is growing constantly. In 2010 we sold about 260 tickets every month. In 2011 – 520, and in 2012 – 800! During the high season of 2012 we serviced 1624 passengers”.
According to him, tickets from Moscow to Nice are 20% more popular then tickets from Nice to Moscow. The price tags on one of these start from €310 for a second class cabin and up to €1092 for a luxury one. There are also discounts for children under 12 and seniors over 60.
