NICE (Reuters) - France has launched a new campaign, called "Cote d'Azur Now", in hopes of luring tourists back to Nice.

Since the Bastille Day attack that killed 85 people on the city's promenade des Anglais last month, bookings are down 19 per cent.

But the president of the federation of beach managers, Mr Rene Colomban, who also owns Blue Beach, says there are signs of hope.

"Just after the attack, there was a very, very sharp drop in tourism. Since the beginning of August, it looks like it's picking up, so it's going in the right direction" he said.

Lauren, a tourist from New Zealand, came despite the attacks says the sight of all the memorials to the victims have cast a pall over her holiday. "It does have a really eerie feeling about it. And, yeah, it feels quite sad being here, seeing all the flowers and all that sort of stuff," she said.

France's tourism industry is an important driver of its economy.

But resorts across the country have suffered since a series of attacks have been launched by men professing their allegiance to Islamic militant groups over the eight months.

Officials are hoping the new ad campaign will supplant the images of death and destruction with images of the beauty of the French landscape.