LONDON, Jan 5 (AFP) - Britons are once again flocking to use Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train service linking London and Paris, in part thanks to the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" that is largely set in the French capital, the company said Wednesday.
"There is no doubt on (journeys between London and) Paris that we have seen what we called the Da Vinci Code effect," said Paul Charles, director of communications at Eurostar, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year and whose services link Britain, France and Belgium.
"We are seeing a big increase of leisure passengers because of the Da Vinci Code effect. The book is now number one in the UK on the best-sellers list and it's having an impact," Charles told AFP.
The Eurostar spokesman added that Britons were no longer tired of visiting Paris, as had been the case two or three years ago because of the lure of other European cities, such as Barcelona and Prague.
Eurostar passenger numbers on all the company's routes rose by 15 percent to 7.27 million during 2004 compared with a year earlier, according to figures released by the company on Wednesday.
Group revenue meanwhile increased by 15 percent to 433 million pounds (616 million euros, 817 million dollars), said Eurostar -- which is operated by the French company SNCF, its Belgian counterpart SNCB and Eurostar UK.
"What we have clearly seen and we are seeing in 2005 as well is a big bounce back of people going to Paris," Charles said.
"Part of it is the Da Vinci Code effect there is no doubt."
"The Da Vinci Code" has spent 87 weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. More than 20 million copies of the novel are in print worldwide, and the book has been translated into 42 languages.
Based around a supposed conspiracy at the top of the Christian church, the book by US author Dan Brown, is set mostly in Paris and marries art, mysticism and religion.
Parisian tourist attractions that have benefited greatly from the book are the Louvre art museum and Saint Sulpice church, Charles said.
Also helping to boost Eurostar passenger numbers have been a series of initiatives carried out by the Paris Tourist Office.
"There has been a new strategy from the Paris Tourist Office which had a big impact and helped to bring in more travellers into France," Charles explained.
"Some of their new initiatives have had a big impact: the ice ring at the Eiffel Tower attracted a lot of people over Christmas."
The French capital's artificial beach on the river Seine, Paris-Plage, has helped also to attract visitors from France's neighbour.
"Paris-Plage had a major impact of people going in the summer to Paris," Charles said.
"We have no doubt that on the leisure side, these initiatives which are very creative... have made a big difference in attracting UK passengers in France."
01/05/2005 17:07 GMT - AFP