Questions are being asked, such as whether visitors were warned to avoid the city during the Olympics, or whether the skyrocketing accommodation prices and events have discouraged every day tourists.
It may be that Paris is proving to be the exception that proves the rule when it comes to the common misconception that host cities of the Olympic games see huge influx of tourists. For whatever reason, visitors – and even Paris residents themselves who might have been tempted to stay at home – are holding back from Paris this summer despite predictions of a travel boom.
John Grant, chief analyst at the aviation intelligence company OAG said: “The phenomena of the Olympics is that the local market doesn’t travel,” he said. Plus, “the regular business traveller who would normally be travelling during that moment in time stops [and] stays at home.”
In previous years, London, Athens, and Atlanta all observed decreased tourism when they hosted the summer games. “It just never quite achieves and delivers what’s expected,” added Grant.
Significant losses by large airlines
AirFrance-KLM last week announced it was expecting a third-quarter drop in its unit revenues from €170m to €150m because of the lack of demand to visit Paris this summer.
The airline identified problems earlier this month. On 1 July, it announced that flights to and from Paris needed to be improved compared to other major European cities. Not only did this cause interest to decrease, but “international markets show a significant avoidance of Paris,” the company stated.
Likewise, Delta Airlines also suspects it will take a colossal hit, due to a significant decrease in travel volume to Paris amid summer games.
According to Delta’s tourism barometer, Paris’s tourism board was anticipating a drop in international travel volume during the start of the Summer Olympic games. The barometer revealed that, when compared with the summer of 2023, travel volume was down by 8% in June and nearly 15% in July.
The tourism board also expects an 11% increase in arrivals during the summer games, with visitors from Europe (+24%) and North America (+15%). However, it is speculated that these numbers will be offset by significant falls in arrivals from Oceania (-30%) and the Middle East (-42%).
Hotels and Airbnbs take a hefty hit
Hotels and Airbnb is also feeling the pinch from the summer slump of the Paris Olympics. Occupancy rates were expected to fall by 60% in July, leaving hotels down 10% compared with 2023, the Paris tourism board said.
Hotels have followed the airlines’ lead by increasing their interest rates to capitalise on what was expected to be a tourism boom, only to find themselves obliged to offer discounts due to slow bookings.
Airbnb hosts are also cutting interest rates – including some by more than 50%. A two-bedroom loft near Notre Dame cut its nightly rate from $1,407 (€1,300.08) to $683 (€631) during the beginning of the Olympic games – which is lower than what nightly rates are marketed to be in the autumn season.
Airbnb said availability in Paris had jumped to an all-time high as hosts saw an opportunity to escape crowds and profit from sports tourism.
“Domestic interest” for stays during the Games has never been higher than in the weeks building up to the Paris Olympics, Airbnb added.
