French and German tourists shun Britain following Brexit
Tourists in the rain in London, March 28 (Illustration image). © In Pictures via Getty Images - Mark Kerrison
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
As a result of the restrictions related to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, French and German tourists would be half as likely to go there as before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the tourism sector.
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With our correspondent in London, Marie Boëda
Brittany Ferries talks about nearly 200,000 fewer travelers in 2022 than in 2019. A heavy loss of income for the shipping company that transports passengers between France and England. The same goes for Joss Croft, chief executive of UKinbound, the trade association for Britain's tourism industry. "The French market has always been extremely important for the UK. It is our second largest market in terms of visits and fourth in terms of expenditure. Since Brexit, the French need a passport instead of using the identity card. This is an obstacle to travel," he explains.
Out of 67 million people in France, only 32 million hold a passport. And school groups are even more affected. It is enough that only one child out of a class of 30 students does not have the official document to cancel the trip. Or move it to the big winner of this story: Ireland, an English-speaking country and still a member of the European Union, which therefore does not require a passport.
Joss Croft and his colleagues in tourism are now calling on the British and French governments to at least make an effort to allow children and students to travel with ID cards.
► Read also: On the eve of the Christmas holidays, the British are worried about not being able to travel in France
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- United Kingdom
- Tourism
- France
- Germany
- Brexit