France can put aside its worries about the effects of the recent rioting on tourism and travel to its country, according to a new study by leading media analysis firm Carma International.
Global measurement company CARMA examined how leading US media were depicting tourism in France in light of the riots and found that the media's portrayal of the unrest was unlikely to hurt French tourism.
Carma reviewed 1,100 stories about the riots and determined that their impact on French tourism was discussed in 10 per cent of reports. Carma conducted an in-depth analysis of these 107 stories, analysing them based on CARMA's rating system for evaluating the quality of media coverage. Surprisingly, these stories averaged a slightly negative 48 rating, only 4 per cent below Carma's neutral rating of 50. Such a score, the firm said, was exceptional, considering the crisis situation, and bode well for France's tourism industry.
"The average organisation researched by CARMA maintains a slightly favourable rating, usually from 53 to 55. However, organisations in crisis usually experience much lower scores," said Carma director Chris Scully, who oversaw the study. "A score of 48 is remarkable compared to previous crises analysed by Carma."
The French tourism industry's 48 rating ranks well above the scores for other crises and scandals in recent years. Past Carma research had shown that the Firestone tyre recall in 2000 received a 33 rating, that the Enron collapse in 2001 garnered a 36 rating, and that the revelation earlier this year that commentator Armstrong Williams was paid by the Bush Administration to promote its No Child Left Behind programme averaged a 27 rating.
Although a considerable percentage of articles included travel advisories from the State Department and other foreign governments, Carma found that more than half of all reports contained reassurances for visitors to France during the unrest and nearly 30 per cent of stories explained that tourist areas and attractions were unaffected by the riots. Carma's research also showed that tourists in France were undeterred, as many told the US media that they felt safe and that their travels were not hindered by the unrest.
"Based on the portrayal of traveling in France during the riots, Carma expects tourism in France to be largely unaffected," predicted Scully. "French government and tourism industry officials implemented an effective public relations strategy during the crisis. Tourism officials in other areas of the world would be wise to follow their lead and make sure they have a well-developed plan in place to respond to a similar situation."
