PARIS: Islamist attacks have scared off thousands of tourists from Paris and its top attractions, helping rob the French capital of about 750 million euros ($850 million) in revenues, officials said on Tuesday.

Strikes and floods have also taken their toll, overshadowing a boost from the Euro 2016 soccer championships and leaving the tourism industry in need of massive new investment and a rescue package, representatives of the sector said.

“It’s time to realise that the tourism sector is going through an industrial disaster,” the head of the Paris region tourist board, Frederic Valletoux, said in a statement.

Visitors to the Arc de Triomphe fell more than a third in the first half of 2016 from the same period a year earlier, the tourist board said.

The Grand Palais museum reported a 43.9 per cent slump and the Palace of Versailles just short of 20pc.

“Hotels are already laying off staff though they’re not saying it. This industry is on its knees and it needs relief measures now. Hoteliers need the weapons to fight back,” Georges Panayotis, head of hotel research firm MKG group, said.

Hotel revenues were down 15pc this summer in the Paris region, he said. Wealthier tourists in particular were staying away, with high-end hotels reporting declines of between 30 and 40pc. Targeted VAT cuts and other tax breaks could help, Panayotis said. Tourism typically provides more than 7pc of France’s gross domestic product.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2016