'Olympic Boom' Paris Accommodation Prices Jump 33%... 'Paris Passing' Travelers

Triple Europe Travel Data Analysis
14%p Decrease in Paris Visitors Among European Travelers Compared to Previous Year
Impact of High Inflation and Overtourism Concerns

The Summer Olympics, held in Paris, France for the first time in 100 years, opened on the 27th (Korean time). Although the global sports festival lasting 17 days is expected to attract the attention of people worldwide, an analysis suggests that Paris's popularity as a tourist destination is waning. Due to concerns about overtourism and the impact of high prices, including accommodation fees rising by more than 30% compared to last year, the phenomenon of travelers 'passing over Paris' is becoming prominent.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to recent data on European travel released by Interpark Triple's hyper-personalized travel platform 'Triple', as of the 16th, from the day the 2024 Paris Olympics begin until the 12th of next month, a total of 12,218 Triple users registered plans for European travel, among whom 3,802 included Paris in their itinerary.

Only 31.1% of Triple users traveling in Europe planned to visit Paris during the Olympic period. This is about 14 percentage points lower compared to the 45.1% who included Paris in their itinerary during the same period last year.

The Olympics, held every four years, is a major event with many attractions and entertainment options that would typically appeal to tourists, but the decrease in the proportion of European travelers visiting Paris is interpreted as due to the burden of rising prices. For example, the average accommodation cost per night for Triple users who booked lodging in Paris during the Olympics was 305,000 KRW, a 33.2% increase from the average of 229,000 KRW during the same period last year. Compared to the average nightly price across Europe, which rose from 219,000 KRW to 272,000 KRW (a 24.2% increase), Paris's increase is 9 percentage points higher. Triple explained that especially travelers in their 20s and 30s are more sensitive to cost issues than other age groups.

Differences also appeared in the gender ratio of Paris travelers compared to the same period last year. Last year, male users traveling to Paris via Triple accounted for 24.2%, with the remaining 75.8% being female. This year, the proportion of male users slightly increased to 27.9%, while females decreased to 72.1%.

The composition of travel companions also changed due to the Olympic issue. The proportion of family trips such as 'with spouse' (15.1% → 12.3%), 'with children' (15.0% → 8.6%), and 'with parents' (9.9% → 9.0%) significantly decreased, whereas the proportion of 'friend trips' jumped from 35.0% last year to 43.6% during the Paris Olympics period this year.

Hwang Sun-young, Growth Product Team Leader at Interpark Triple, explained, "As a spillover effect of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the proportion of European travel this summer is increasing in cities like Barcelona, Prague, and Budapest."