In New York
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Emily, quick, get out of there!" Amused comments from netizens abound, in response to the vast hype about the bed bug crisis in France. Far, far from the image of Épinal conveyed by the adventures of a certain Emily in Paris, would the hexagon reveal a darker side? Stunned by this sudden infestation, will Americans flee the French capital, while the image of Paris and the French seemed to be gilded by the grace of a popular television series?
North American tour operators are refraining for the moment from responding to media requests. "Understand that I prefer not to associate my agency with the problem of bed bugs," apologizes one of them. Some, however, want to reassure without hiding. "To this day I have not had any customers come to complain about his stay," says Rudy Passera, who organizes trips to the sites of the landing of June 6, 1944 with his agency Normandy American Heroes. It is true that the media keeps talking about it, but I am not concerned."
Read alsoBed bugs: on vacation, how to avoid bringing back in your suitcase
Only people with a real phobia about it will be tempted to cancel or postpone their stays in response to these articles.
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I just came back from Paris where I had a great stay at the Four Seasons, adds Amy Louise Bailey, freelance writer for various publications. Everything was perfect and in the rest of the city too." Users of regional trains and TGVs may not be bathed in the same optimism, but a general line is emerging: the hype is clearly disproportionate. "Some travelers may be put off by media stories, but I'm very skeptical about the potential impact on tourist attendance or travel plans in a significant way, in the long term," adds Courtney Traub, editor of the English site Paris Unlocked. Only people with a real phobia about it will be tempted to cancel or postpone their trips, in response to these press articles.
»The watchword, similar to that of the French government, is moderation: "As the authorities have said, there is always an increase in the number of cases after the summer season, after which holidaymakers are still at risk of bringing unwanted guests back in their luggage, which leads to a temporary increase in infestations. I have my doubts that it would be worse in Paris than in any other major city in the world, on the other hand. It's just a good way to make clicks for news sites.
»The memory of "no go zones"
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I remember the forest fires in 2017, says Frédéric Dimanche. North American television channels showed that all of southern Europe was on fire, from Spain to Italy. I had checked with tourism professionals on the Côte d'Azur and they had not seen any difference in bookings." Two years earlier, however, the attacks in Paris had clearly cooled North American tourism, while Fox News invented the concept of "no-go zones" by describing a France of fire and blood, plagued by civil war.
On its website, the US State Department does not even mention the issue of "bedbugs" in its travel advisories: the France is indeed in "yellow" alert level number two, but for other reasons: it is suggested to make "act of enhanced caution due to terrorism and civil unrest". As long as they "watch the surroundings in the crowd and avoid demonstrations", visitors to the new world can sleep soundly. The tiny insects have not yet managed to establish themselves on the diplomatic and tourist scene.