Tourist numbers pick up

Good news for Monaco's tourist industry.

The Easter break has brought some optimism for companies and workers in the Principality's tourist industry. Over the holiday weekend, there was an 8% increase in hotel room occupation compared to last year. Most tourists were Italian and French, but the British are still visiting in spite of the weak pound and general economic pessimism in the UK.

Just a week after the Easter good news, figures for the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament were released. The 2009 season has been a record one for the prestigious competition, which welcomed 124,000 spectators, compared to 116,000 in 2008. Some of this growth has been attributed to an increase in the capacity of the centre court stands, as well as to the attendance of the best tennis players in the world. No less important however is the ability to book and buy tickets at the last minute over the Internet, something which is also claimed to have been the reason for the general success of tourism over Easter.