‘Sports tourism’ is huge. But the Summer Olympics caused fewer trips to Paris

Was it the Parisians who openly told visitors not to “come” to Paris during the Summer Games?

Or did the high prices of hotel rooms, house rentals and event tickets turn away visitors?

For many reasons, many people – including citizens – avoided Paris in preparation for the Olympic Games, although there were predictions that there was a possibility of departure. Early estimates often focus on the number of people expected to attend the Games, while ignoring the number of visitors turned away by them.

It’s a common misconception that host cities see an explosion in visitors around the Olympics, said John Grant, chief analyst at aviation intelligence firm OAG.

“The implication of the Olympics is that the local market is not moving,” he said. Also, “the average business traveler who used to travel at that point in time, stops [and] he lives at home.”

London, Athens and Atlanta all saw a drop in summer visitors when they hosted the Summer Games, Grant said.

“It never reaches and delivers what is expected,” he said.

Air France signaled trouble earlier this month, announcing on July 1 that traffic to and from Paris was lagging behind other major European cities. Not only has interest waned, but “international markets are showing a strong avoidance of Paris,” the company said.

Similarly, Delta Air Lines it also plans to take a big hit – more than $100 million – due to the drop in the number of trips to France as a direct result of the Summer Games.

“Unless you’re going to the Olympics, people don’t go to Paris,” CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC.

None of this is surprising, said Grant.

Neither airline increased capacity significantly — Air France by 5%, and Delta none — compared to last August, he said. Instead, their losses are price-related, he said.

“They have been trying to sell fares at a higher price than the market demand can support,” he said, adding that the airlines ended up dropping these fares to get any money back. they can afford it.

In its June tourism barometer, the Paris tourism board showed a drop in international air arrivals in all markets in the run-up to the Olympic Games – down 8% in June and almost 15 % in July, compared to 2023.

The tourism board also expects an 11% increase in arrivals during the Games, boosted by visitors from Europe (+24%) and North America (+15%) but offset by sharp drops in arrivals from Middle East (-42%). and Oceania (-30%).

Hotels are also feeling the pinch in the Paris summer, with occupancy rates expected to drop by 60% by early July, down 10 points from 2023, according to the Paris tourism board.

Like airlines, many hotels have raised rates to take advantage of tourism, only to drop them after a slow booking season.

However, average prices rose by almost 70% this July, from 202 euros last year to 342 euros during the Olympics, the Paris tourism board said. According to estimates from the travel price comparison website Trivago, rates have increased even more, up 85% year-on-year in Paris, and 131% in Lille, which hosts other tournaments such as basketball and handball.

Airbnb hosts also take a cut of rates – some by more than 50%. An upstairs two-bedroom near Notre Dame dropped its nightly rate from $1,407 to $683 in the first week of the Games — lower than its nightly rate in the fall.

Airbnb said listings in Paris reached their all-time high this summer, as quirky Parisians took the opportunity to simultaneously escape the crowds and cash in on the sport’s tourism boom.

Airbnb told CNBC that tens of thousands of people in host cities have opened their homes for the first time. But the company declined to say how many listings remained unbooked during the Games, instead telling CNBC Travel: “The Paris 2024 Olympics will be the biggest event in Airbnb’s history , with more guests staying at home. on stage than at any other event, ever.”

Airbnb also said “domestic interest” for accommodation during the Games has never been higher than in the weeks leading up to the Paris Games.

Last-minute travelers can still get tickets to the Paris Games. Of the 10 million tickets on sale, 8.95 million have been sold or distributed as of Thursday, Paris’ 2024 press office told CNBC.

There are still more available in the growing resale market, where more expensive tickets attract fewer buyers, according to an analysis by the Financial Times.

At a time when “sports tourism” and event-focused, experience-led travel rule the day, it may seem surprising that at the pinnacle of world competitions – where the world’s best athletes compete and one of its most famous cities – t creates a huge wave of travel to the host city.

But not to Grant.

“The Olympics is very broad … it’s not an isolated event,” he said. “There’s a tennis gold medal to be had, but it’s not Wimbledon.”

Besides, there are too many events, he said.

“You can’t say they’re not good quality, because they are [but] it’s very common.”

–CNBC’s Zenith Wong contributed to this report.

Note: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics owns the US broadcast rights to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.