With just a month left for the Summer Olympics, the mega sporting event has already been attracting hordes of sports enthusiasts to France. Travel bookings to France during the games have jumped 52% compared to the same period in 2023 and hotel occupancy rates in some cities have more than doubled, a recent study has revealed.
Travel interest in France continues to climb, observed the Amadeus business intelligence data, with international air travel to France rising 56% for the Olympic period (between July 24 and August 13), while domestic air travel has increased 31%.
Paris has always been one of top tourist destinations in the world. However, as the host city of the Olympics, the City of Light is expected to welcome 72% additional travelers compared to the same time last year, the data said. The Paralympics (which will be held from August 28 to September 8) is also expected to drive travel to the city by 16%, with special interest from travelers from the U.S., Spain and Canada.
Lille, the city in northern France which is hosting basketball and handball, will see visitor volume more than quadruple. Overall bookings in the city have skyrocketed 203% from last summer. A large part of this astounding growth stems from domestic tourism, Amadeus said. The growth of domestic travelers in the city will zoom 300% compared to 181% growth in international visitors.
Other cities, however, have not recorded the same phenomenal growth. Bookings to Bordeaux, which is hosting football, is up 38%, similar to Marseille, which is hosting football and sailing.
Domestic travel within France has risen by a promising 31% from the same time last year, but most of the growth is from international travelers from all parts of the world with a 56% jump.
Here is the ranking of origin countries based on air booking volumes:
- The U.S.
- Japan
- Canada
- Great Britain
- Germany
- Algeria
- Italy
- Korea
- Spain
- Brazil
HOTEL BOOKINGS
In Paris, hotel booking levels are almost touching 80%, according to a latest report by CoStar. A growth trajectory in occupancy on the books has accelerated in the past few months, with the levels hovering above 60% in April and close to 50% in February.
As of June 17, occupancy on the books was peaking at 77.8% on July 27, Saturday, the night of 14 gold medal events. This is followed by the opening night (July 26, Friday), with occupancy on the books at 77.7%. Compared to the same time in 2023, Paris’ booking levels for those nights were at 47.7% and 47.5%, respectively, according to CoStar’s data.
Although the event is expected to drive leisure travel, STR said there has been a shift in business travel patterns leading up to the games.
“However, the lower demand we’re seeing for the early summer months can be seen as a temporary adjustment. This dip in travel in the short term is allowing Paris to focus on catering to the massive influx of leisure travelers visiting the market next month,” said Christina Choueifaty, senior account manager at STR. “In the long run, the Olympics will further solidify the city’s position as a major tourist destination, potentially attracting even more demand in the future.”
The games have also impacted the booking volumes in the Île-de-France region, with the highest occupancy on the books (75.1%) on August 3, Saturday, the night of 28 gold medal events. Similar to Paris, the lowest occupancy on the books (58.9%) for Île-de-France is seen on August 11, Sunday.
Over 50% of the hotel bookings are being made 0-14 days ahead of the stay, Amadeus found. As of now, the average ADR in Paris has slipped 13%to $724 and declined 7% to $616 in the rest of France, compared to an analysis conducted on April 1.
