Paris Olympics is deterring tourism
Paris Olympics is deterring tourism though world-class athletes and sporting competitions are present. Nothing to celebrate the city’s tourism
The elegant shops, museums, and restaurants in Paris’s famed Marais neighbourhood, which often attracts throngs of visitors, appear to be deserted these days.
As tourists steer clear of one of the most popular cities in the world during the Olympics, tourism in the French capital is declining.
Remi Calmon, director of SNEG and Co, a trade organisation that represents food and beverage establishments in the French capital, told DW that “the second half of July has been absolutely catastrophic for cafes and bars in Paris.”
“The Parisians have left; the streets are empty.
For the opening ceremony, we had fencing made of metal that blocked the view on cafe terraces that were designated as prohibited areas.
There are few to no customers because some roads and metro stations are closed, according to Calmon.
Restaurants inside high-security zones near the Seine River were particularly heavily hit, according to Calmon, who stated that these establishments experienced a near-lockdown for days before to the grand opening ceremony last week.
Sales for restaurant owners have decreased by over 50%.
For other people, paying their rent and salaries is a worry. Calmon remarked, “It’s brought back bad memories of the Covid-era.”
Although the French government has promised to look into potential business compensation, the real concern is whether tourists would return once security measures around the opening ceremony are relaxed.
Major airlines report sluggish bookings and unfilled seats as a result of the Olympic Games dampening the usual summer enthusiasm for vacations to the French capital.
While Air France-KLM reported that it anticipated a €150 million ($162,3 million) to €170 million ($184 million) decrease in revenue from the Games in the third quarter, Delta predicted a $100 million fall from June to August.
The airline reported on July 1st that traffic to and from Paris was not keeping up with other major cities in Europe.
According to Air France-KLM’s website, “international markets show a significant avoidance of Paris,” in addition to the decline in interest.
According to Gail Boisclair of PerfectlyParis, a furnished flat rentals company, “a lot of people are avoiding Paris because they don’t want to deal with the stress of potentially overcrowded metros during the Olympics, of traffic congestion, possible strikes, and possible terrorist attacks.”
Business travellers from the US who have chosen to forego Paris and instead visit other European cities make up a large portion of Boisclair’s repeat customer base.
Their Tours to the French capital has been rescheduled for the following year.
Smaller tourism businesses are also having difficulty. For instance, Photo Perfect Paris is a business that provides tourists with photo opportunities at famous locations in the French city.
Sophia Pagan, a business owner and photographer, told DW that during the Olympics, her sales have decreased from an average of 20 clients per month to just three clients.
“Every Tour industry person I’ve spoken to has agreed that we all assumed it would be an incredible year, a gold rush during the Olympics.
But that’s not how it happened at all,” Pagan remarked.
At the Place de la Concorde in Paris, there are large barriers.
Expensive costs deterring tourists
The exorbitant costs of lodging, hotels, and metro tickets are among the primary causes of this downturn.
Many hotels hiked rates in anticipation of a spike in travel, only to lower them after a poor spring booking season.
Nevertheless, according to the Paris tourism bureau, average rates are up almost 70% this July from €202 ($219) last year to €342 ($370) over the Olympic time.
Additionally, a lot of Parisians intended to capitalise on the anticipated spike in tourism by renting out their houses at exorbitant rates.
However, the gamble did not pay off.
Estimates for the number of tourists attending the Olympics have dropped from 15 million to 11 million.
Around 1.5 million foreign tourists are anticipated for the Games, according to the Paris tourism authority, with the majority of Olympic ticket holders being French citizens.
The majority of them will only be in Paris for a maximum of four or five nights, or maybe one or two nights. Additionally, Gail Boisclair stated, “They most likely have family, friends, or friends of friends in Paris.” “Therefore, not many of them will be lodging in hotels or apartments.”
Examining a few of the well-known reservation websites reveals that thousands of rental flats remain unoccupied despite the sharp decline in pricing and the persistently high number of offers compared to demand.
However, some are optimistic that once the games get underway, things will get back to normal and that Olympic ticket holders and sports enthusiasts would help make up for some of the lost tourism.
Compiled by
World Travel News, Gorilla Trekking Uganda and Gorilla Trekking Rwanda
