Tuesday, November 7, 2023
An extra three million people may travel to Paris for the Olympic Games in 2024.
This will be increasing tourism spending by up to €4bn, according to Euromonitor International.
The successful Rugby World Cup, served as a dress rehearsal for next summer’s games. It has just played out in Paris and across France.
This will bring many opportunities. But also challenges for the French tourism industry.
With a forecasted four billion global television audience, the country will be front and centre in the worldwide spotlight.
Paris 2024 could skyrocket the profile of France.
It is already at the top of Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index for 2022, as a destination from 2025.
Alexander Göransson, senior consultant at Euromonitor International, said the Paris 2024 games hopefully will attract 15 million spectators, many locals and domestic day trippers.
But, there is a forecast of up to three million additional visitors in Paris in 2024.
He said this in his report Paris 2024 Olympics Games: Challenges and Opportunities for French Tourism.
The experience from previous games shows that Olympic visitors spend more than regular visitors. Also, that accommodation providers will be the main winners during the 17-day event.
Short-term rentals will play a key role as the sector is more elastic in terms of capacity than hotels.
As of April 2023, there is a report that 1,000 Parisian hosts were taking bookings on Airbnb for the weeks of the Games.
But, this may grow exponentially while hosts are increasing their prices by a factor of three during the Olympic weeks.
The Games will also provide a boost to transportation providers and consumer food outlets.
They will be catering for both day trippers and overnight visitors.
Göransson explained that Paris is famous as one of the world’s leading destinations. It may receive a footfall of 15 million visitors in 2023.
It will be going for a “Games in the city” concept with key events near Paris’s most iconic sites such as the Eiffel Tower, Versailles Palace and the Champs-Élysées.
Non-Olympic visitors will be avoiding these iconic sites, if they will have access to them at all, he said.
Museums and heritage sites will exoeriecne negative impact as will organisers of guided walks and tours with their activities restricted due to street closures.
Paris is not the first city to face concerns about its readiness to host the Olympic Games.
An event with 10,000 athletes and 10 million visitors will inevitably see some hiccups along the way but Olympic Games in the past have gone smoothly.
The true benefits of a successful Paris 2024, watched by a massive global television audience, will be felt in subsequent years, Göransson said.
Unlike during the Olympics itself, this will benefit the overall tourism economy and not just hospitality.
Euromonitor International expects a steady increase in inbound visitors to France and its capital city from 2025.
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
