Was it the Parisians who bluntly instructed vacationers “don’t come” to Paris in the course of the Summer season Video games?
Or did sky-high costs for resort rooms, home leases and occasion tickets flip vacationers away?
For a mess of causes, many individuals — together with residents — prevented Paris within the build-up to the Olympic Video games, regardless of prognostications {that a} journey increase was all however assured. Forecasts typically deal with the variety of folks anticipated to attend the Video games, whereas ignoring the variety of vacationers who’re turned off by them.
It is a widespread false impression that host cities see an explosion of vacationers across the Olympic Video games, stated John Grant, chief analyst on the aviation intelligence firm OAG.
“The phenomena of the Olympics is that the native market would not journey,” he stated. Plus “the common enterprise traveler who would usually be touring throughout that second in time, stops [and] stays at dwelling.”
London, Athens and Atlanta all noticed a drop in summer season guests after they hosted the Summer season Video games, stated Grant.
“It simply by no means fairly achieves and delivers what’s anticipated,” he stated.
Large losses by key airways
None of this can be a shock, stated Grant.
Neither airline elevated capability a lot — Air France by 5%, and Delta by none — in contrast with final August, he stated. Quite, their losses relate to fare pricing, he stated.
“They have been holding out making an attempt to promote fares at the next value than market demand would assist,” he stated, including that the airways finally discounted these fares to seize no matter income they might.
OAG’s John Grant stated not all airways took successful due to the Summer season Video games. Among the many “winners,” he singled out Ryanair, which considerably elevated capability to Paris this summer season.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Photos
In its June tourism barometer, Paris’ tourism board projected a drop in worldwide air arrivals throughout all markets in the course of the lead-up to the Olympic Video games — down 8% in June and almost 15% in July, in contrast with 2023.
The tourism board can also be anticipating an 11% enhance in arrivals in the course of the Video games, spurred by guests from Europe (+24%) and North America (+15%) however offset by sharp drops in arrivals from the Center East (-42%) and Oceania (-30%).
Empty Airbnbs and unsold tickets
Lodges, too, are feeling the pinch of Paris’ summer season slowdown, with occupancy charges anticipated to drop to 60% in early July, down some 10 factors from 2023, in line with Paris’ tourism board.
Just like the airways, many motels raised charges to reap the benefits of the tourism bump, solely to low cost them following a spring season of sluggish bookings.
Nonetheless, common charges are up almost 70% this July, from 202 euros final yr to 342 euros in the course of the Olympic interval, Paris’ tourism board stated. Estimates from the journey value comparability web site Trivago present charges have jumped much more, up 85% yr on yr in Paris, and 131% in Lille, which is internet hosting among the Video games’ basketball and handballs competitions.
Airbnb hosts are additionally chopping charges — some by greater than 50%. A two-bedroom loft close to the Notre Dame slashed its nightly price from $1,407 to $683 in the course of the first week of the Video games — which is decrease than its nightly price within the fall.
Airbnb stated listings in Paris reached an all-time excessive this summer season, as enterprising Parisians jumped on the probability to concurrently escape the crowds and money in on sports activities vacationers’ propensity to spend.
Airbnb instructed CNBC that tens of hundreds of individuals in host cities had opened their properties for the primary time. However the firm declined to say the variety of listings that remained unbooked in the course of the Video games, as an alternative telling CNBC Journey that: “The Olympic Video games Paris 2024 is ready to be the largest internet hosting occasion in Airbnb’s historical past, with extra visitors staying in native properties on our platform than at any occasion, ever earlier than.”
Airbnb additionally stated “home curiosity” for stays in the course of the Video games has by no means been larger than within the weeks main as much as Paris Video games.
‘The Olympics is simply too broad’
Final-minute vacationers can nonetheless snag tickets to the Paris Video games. Out of 10 million tickets on the market, 8.95 million have been bought or allotted as of Thursday, Paris’ 2024 press workplace instructed CNBC.
Nonetheless extra can be found on the ever-growing resale market, the place a glut of pricy tickets are attracting few patrons, in line with an evaluation by the Monetary Instances.
In an period the place “sports activities tourism” and event-focused, experience-led journey rule the day, it might appear shocking that the top of worldwide competitions — during which the world’s high athletes are competing in one among its hottest cities — did not end in a better journey bump to its host metropolis.
However to not Grant.
“The Olympics is simply too broad … it is not a particular occasion,” he stated. “There’s a tennis gold medal available, however it’s not Wimbledon.”
Plus, there are too many occasions, he stated.
“You possibly can’t say they are not good high quality, as a result of they’re [but] it is simply too generic.”
— CNBC’s Zenith Wong contributed to this report.
