The undated photo shows two Chinese kids pose for a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. [Photo: tieba.baidu.com]

The French tourism industry has sought to reverse declining visitor numbers by courting Chinese travellers.

It's been a very difficult year for the tourism industry in France. Terror attacks in Paris and in Nice rocked visitor confidence, and the number of tourists visiting the country fell sharply during the course of 2016.

From China alone, there were over twenty percent fewer visitors in 2016 than in 2015.

The terror attacks, however, only tell part of the story.

In January, we reported that there were many other things that were persuading tourists to visit destinations other than France.

Most interestingly, the President of the Chinese Association of Travel Agencies in France, Jean-François Zhou, told Le Parisien newspaper that violence and theft were also turning his countrymen away from the Paris area, in particular.

''(they) are robbed in the palace of Versailles, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in front of their hotel, as they leave the coaches...''

Now, France has gone on a charm offensive to try and win these visitors back.

Their strategy includes approving new flights between China and France, vastly increasing the rate of tax refund that overseas visitors can claim on their purchases, and expanding cooperation with Chinese police in an effort to combat security concerns.