Paris aims to ban tourist buses from the city center to spur visitors to walk, cycle or take public transport, and thus tackle complaints about nuisances caused by mass tourism, the French capital's deputy mayor for tourism said.
The city hall's Jean-Francois Martins said they were concerned about the influx of tourist buses, due to their pollutive diesel engines and the obstruction of traffic that they on main roads.
"They take up space, they obstruct the roads, sometimes they park in an unruly manner, and they are part of why traffic gets clogged," Martins said.
Paris is full of dozens of hop-on, hop-off double-decker buses that shuttle tourists between the main monuments, as well as international tourist coaches that bring in organized groups and budget travelers from all over Europe.
The city is awaiting new legislation to reduce bus traffic and plans to put in place parking spots outside the city so that buses no longer drive into the center. As for those buses which come into the center, they must park only at designated spots from which tourists can walk to landmarks, Martins said.
France's new law on mobility will give local authorities more powers to regulate local traffic and newer transport options such as rented bicycles and electric scooters. The city hall has encouraged tour guides to adapt by developing guided bicycle tours, or walking tours with headphones.
But a group of American tourists said the size of Paris was overwhelming, and that they joined an organized tour to get around more easily.
"I think you'd need to offer some sort of smaller bus that we could take for the tour because it's too large to walk and especially some of the older folks would not be able to walk that distance," said Minnesotan tourist Nancy Bates.
Last year, tourist arrivals in Paris and the surrounding Ile-de-France region set a record of 50 million people, up from 48 million in 2017, despite the sometimes violent "yellow vest" protests against the government which began last November.
France is the world's most visited country, receiving a record 89.4 million visitors last year, an increase from 86.9 million in 2017.
REUTERS