Events have been cancelled or postponed, following the French government's ban on all non-essential commercial activities. Credit: Getty Images, KavalenkavaVolha
LONDON - Following France's lockdown since 17 March 2020, hotel occupancy has nosedived from 65.3% in February to just 3.3% this month as the number of Covid-19 cases grew.
Data by hotel research company, STR, showed that daily occupancy in France originally did well at 65.3% on 26 Feb, with figures expected to continue at above 30% occupancy through 12 Mar.
However, with lockdown in place since 17 Mar, these estimates fell through - STR's most recent data for the same day showed just three out of 100 rooms occupied on average in the country.
In Paris, daily occupancy peaked at 84% on 17 Jan, and stayed at 50% as late as 3 Mar, but numbers started going down to 1.8% on 17 Mar.
With this announcement of the European Union borders to most non-EU citizens, also came the French government's ban on all non-essential commercial activities and tight rules on all outside activities within the country.
This means apart from the closure of cultural venues, F&B establishments, sporting arenas, and retail, scheduled events have also taken a hit - with organisers either announcing cancellations or postponements.
The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau's tourist offices are also currently closed, affected companies are advised to contact their home country's embassies for further queries.
For a list of postponed events in Paris, click here.