London, Paris compete for world's top tourist destination

New figures suggest London may have taken from Paris the prized number one spot as the world's favourite tourist destination. It appears to have reopened ancient rivalries between the two cities. But according to UK sources, Paris has rejected figures suggesting bumper numbers last year, which show London edge ahead of Paris for the first time.

London, Paris compete for world's top tourist destination

London doesn't need numbers to know it always rises to the occasion.
 Excited tourists sometimes singing themselves hoarse with happiness.
 Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to UK, said, "A happy Year of the Horse."

 In 2013, the UK capital's iconic attractions pushed numbers up 20 per cent, according to the solemn findings of the UK's National Office of Statistics. Hitting a record 16 million visitors. And, it’s claimed, in London at least, making the city the world's favourite tourist destination.

London

For runners up Paris, nothing but bonhomie.
Indeed, isn't there even a giant blue replica of a French National Emblem in the middle of Trafalgar Square, named after a great British victory against Napoleon Bonaparte.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said the figures are evidence of what Londoners always knew:
"London is the greatest city on Earth," he said.
CCTV correspondents Richard Bestic said, "So armed with the latest facts and figures, surely even my Parisian counterpart Kate Parkinson would agree, London is number One."
Parkinson said, "Thanks for that Richard, but on this side of the channel people see things a little differently. The deputy mayor of Paris has described London as little more than a suburb of the French capital and is insisting that this is still the most visited city in the world."

Paris

France is extremely proud of its iconic landmarks and to hear the London mayor gloating has not been well received here.
But as Napoleon said, "greatness is nothing unless it is lasting" and France is fighting back  rolling out fast-track visas for Chinese visitors to make sure they chose "The City of Love instead of London.
Thomas Deschamps, Paris Tourism Office, said, "The romanticism of the destination is something that is really, really strong for them and Paris is on the top of their list in this respect. The 48-hour process for the visa is adding something more to the strength of our destination in the Chinese mind and we need that because there is a fierce competition between cities."
The rivalry between France and Britain goes back centuries and yet, surprisingly, the competition between Paris and London for global tourists is largely focused on each other's citizens. Although I suspect I'd find it hard to find a French person who is prepared to admit to enjoying a holiday in England.