Mumbai: ‘Up Indian tourist numbers to Eiffel’

As Managing Director of the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (SETE in French) Patrick Branco Ruivo always has a tall order on hand. "Yet, it is a task I do gladly, as I love my job," said Ruivo on his flying visit to Mumbai.

The Parisian has been to New Delhi several times, "but it is my first time in Mumbai," he said looking through the glass windows of the Taj Mahal hotel at Colaba at the evening rain, likely Mumbai monsoon's last show of strength and the crowds swelling and surging, just like the sea near the Gateway of India.

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Ruivo, a diplomat for three years at the French Embassy in Bangladesh, became MD of SETE in November 2018. Six years later, his visit to Maximum City with minimum time is to, "up the number of tourists from India at the Eiffel Tower. Currently, it is four per cent, I want to double that by 2026. I want to understand what the Indian tourist wants, facilitate, and implement this."

Travel trends

One thing Ruivo is noting is that travel trends, "earlier people, even Indians would travel to Paris and arrive at the iconic Eiffel in huge groups. Today, I see couples and young families, and the huge tourist groups seem to have diminished, that is an interesting trend." Ruivo added that the Tower, "Has two restaurants, a lounge on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. We had an International Day of Yoga celebration event at the Tower. We see more families visiting in the day, and more couples arriving at The Tower at night, which stays open till 11.45 pm," said Ruivo.

Yet, with all its magnetic lure and global fame, after all, who does not know the Eiffel? It is important to have newer initiatives to bring crowds to the Tower. Ruivo said, "We launched our online shop, with official Eiffel Tower gifts and souvenirs made in France. The accent is on quality." That quality may be the only ‘q' now at the Eiffel. The Indian tourist can buy his Eiffel Tower tickets via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) started earlier this year, doing away with waiting at ticket queues altogether. The recent Paris Olympics had so many athletes posing just below the Eiffel Tower in the ubiquitous biting our medals pose, it was the big Kodak moment, pushing the landmark into yet another orbit when it comes to visibility. The ongoing Paralympics in Paris, will surely once again see the Tower as background in pictures of elated athletes.

Happiness quotient

"I love to see people happy when they visit the Tower," said the MD who added that happiness is one of the biggest draws of his job. Ruivo said, "The Eiffel is on so many traveller's bucket lists, their dream destinations. Selfies and celebrity visits, even virtual experiences which we work on to draw in a younger crowd in a digital age, are an important part of the Eiffel Tower profile. Those aside, it is the emotions of visitors that make one realise just how soul-stirring a visit to the Eiffel can be. I have seen tourists overwhelmed with emotion at the Eiffel many of them cry," he stated, "these are tears of joy that a dream has been realised and tears of wonder, maybe gratitude too, they cannot believe they are there at the very site they may have dreamt about for so many years," explained Ruivo.

Post emotions, we talk about the gritty reality of terrorism. The structure got a perimeter wall in 2018 to guard against possible terror attacks. Recently, when reminded that France faced an attack when two cars in a synagogue complex of a seaside resort town near Montpellier burst into flames with a police officer injured, Ruivo highlighted the security aspects at the Eiffel. "Besides the wall, we also have a very robust, heavy police presence," said Ruivo when told that the site is a terror draw simply because of the eyeballs it generates. Ruivo reminded, "We have a peaceful, secure atmosphere, we welcome nearly 25,000 persons daily," underlining that not just Emily in Paris but the world too, wants its fill of the Eiffel.

25,000
No. of people that visit the Eiffel Tower daily