Tourist drought hits Disneyland Paris

Iraq fallout, strikes and forest fires have kept Americans and Europeans away. Midday on the hottest August day recorded in Paris and Dominique has no customers for his ice-cold bottles of water. Nearby, in the chilled interior of the Rendez-Vous with the Stars restaurant, most of the tables are empty. Midday on the hottest August day recorded in Paris and Dominique has no customers for his ice-cold bottles of water. Nearby, in the chilled interior of the Rendez-Vous with the Stars restaurant, most of the tables are empty.

A number of refreshment stalls scattered throughout France's newest theme park appear to be closed. Even the queues for the rides at Walt Disney Studios are disconcertingly short.

Staff in their themed costumes are paid to remain upbeat, US-style. "Not many guests? There'll be more this afternoon," one shop assistant manning an empty gift store says with a concrete smile. Most have been primed to fend off difficult questions. "We aren't allowed to talk about visitor numbers," says Nadine at the guest relations window. "But the president has great confidence in the product."

The relentless piped music echoing across the complex's tarmac expanses can hardly be soothing to the frazzled heads of management officials engrossed in crisis talks in the on-site head office

Disneyland Paris is struggling to fend off bankruptcy, once again. Visitors have not flocked to the expensive new park, dedicated to the art of Hollywood film-making, which was completed last March at a cost of $600m (£370m). The chief executive was forced last week to announce that the shortfall in ticket sales meant that the company risked soon defaulting on some of its €2.3bn (£1.6bn) debt.

This is the latest of numerous plummets experienced by Eurodisney during its short history. In 1994, two years after it opened, it had to be saved from bankruptcy with a 16bn franc (£1.6bn) rescue package, and worries only really faded with the fairytale arrival of a billionaire prince from Saudi Arabia who became the company's biggest investor. The park's rebranding as Disneyland Paris helped to improve its "Euro-dismal" image.