PARIS - THEIR city is the world's No. 1 tourist destination, yet Parisians sometimes seem downright grumpy about it.
On Monday, city officials set out to change that, urging cab drivers to smile and telling waiters to try out their English.

Tourists, too, were given tips like 'try out French products' instead of heading to the first Starbucks in search of friendly service.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe launched the inaugural Paris Tourist Day - which is to become an annual event - on the sprawling Trocadero Plaza across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower.

Passers-by at the event were offered Parisian water and orange juice - and brochures with a 'Charter for the Parisian and Visitor'.

'I will take the time to give information to visitors. I will make use of my foreign language skills to reply to them in their language,' reads one piece of advice to Parisians.

Said Brazilian tourist Joana D'Arc de Almeida: 'To be frank, I think Paris needs to learn a lot about how to deal with tourists, because that's what brings money to the city.

'It looks like they have so much money from it already that they don't care about people any more.'

Predictably, Parisians said their reputation for being rude was exaggerated.

Tour guide Nicole Rimbaud insisted that her fellow Parisians' 'habits are really changing'.

'If (visitors) make an effort and try to explain to Parisians that they don't speak French instead of speaking English right away, (French) people can be very warm, actually,' she said.

Cab driver Mustafah Hammoum welcomed the friendliness campaign, but said that in general, his colleagues are 'quite nice'.

'What could we improve? Well, traffic, that's for sure. And English skills. There are lots of cab drivers who don't speak that language. It's a real problem when people can't understand each other,' he said.

Paris Tourism Office director Paul Roll conceded that Paris has a 'rather unfriendly' image but defended his compatriots.

'French citizens are shy when they need to speak in a foreign language. They have a very strong accent, which makes it difficult to understand,' he said.

He said 12 per cent of jobs in Paris are directly connected to tourism, and the campaign was aimed at making Parisians understand how important tourism is to their city's economic growth, and helping them improve the way they deal with foreigners.

France has been consistently ranked as the world's top tourist draw. Last year, 78 million people visited the country, of whom 15.3million travelled to the capital, according to the Paris tourist office.

Revenues from tourism for the country as a whole rose 2.5 per cent from 34 billion euros (S$70 billion) in 2005.

However, growing competition from other destinations, especially those in the Asia-Pacific, might topple France from its throne in the next decade. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation says China could take over from France as the world's top vacation destination by 2020.

Monday's event, which was sponsored by the City Hall and the tourism office, is only one part of Paris' efforts to promote itself.

'Ambassadors of Welcome' kiosks went up for the summer in five strategic tourist points. One is near Notre Dame Cathedral and another is located at the Place de la Bastille.

In any case, Mr Roll noted, despite tourists' fears of surly Parisian service, they usually have a change of heart once they get here.

He said 97 per cent of those who visit the City of Light say they want to come back.

By 2020, the number of foreign tourists to the city is expected to climb to 20 million annually, according to Paris Tourism Office figures.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo: AP