Olympic Tourism Boom? "Paris City Center Completely Empty" [Paris Olympics]

Paris Tourism Board "14.8% Decrease in Foreign Tourists in July Compared to Last Year"
July Paris Hotel Room Occupancy at 60%, Down 10% Year-on-Year

The French Paris tourism industry, which had anticipated an Olympic boom, has encountered unprecedented difficulties due to a severe downturn. Nearly 40% of hotel rooms remain vacant, and Disneyland Paris, once known for long queues, is now eerily quiet, reminiscent of the COVID-19 period. The airline industry and restaurants have also suffered significant blows.

French police officers are passing in front of a banner announcing the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics on the 20th in Paris.
[Photo by AP, Paris]

The Paris Tourism Office forecasted on the 7th that foreign tourists in July this year would decrease by 14.8% compared to the same period last year and by 16.4% compared to 2019.

US CBS News recently reported, "Paris, a global tourist city with over 300,000 people employed in travel and tourism industries, had most expected to benefit from the Olympic boom this summer, but those expectations have been clearly missed."

Earlier, Euronews also reported, "For some reason, contrary to government expectations of a travel boom, not only tourists but even Paris residents are avoiding Paris this summer," adding, "This may prove an exception to the common belief that Olympic host cities experience a massive influx of tourists."

Paris hotels and accommodations have also faced a recession due to the unexpected decline in tourists. The Paris Tourism Office expects hotel room occupancy in July this year to be 60%, a 10 percentage point drop compared to last year.

Airbnb hosts have rushed to lower their rates, but rooms remain empty. Euronews reported, "Some hosts have reduced prices by more than 50%," noting that "a two-bedroom loft near Notre-Dame lowered its nightly rate during the Olympic period from $1,407 to $683."

Tourists gathered outside the barricades at Paris Trocad?ro Square take photos of the Eiffel Tower visible through the gaps as entry is restricted.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The airline industry is in a similar situation. Air France-KLM increased routes significantly, expecting more tourists in Paris during the Olympics, but with demand falling short of expectations, they anticipate a revenue drop of 160 million to 180 million euros (approximately 237.392 billion to 267.066 billion KRW) from June to August this year.

Major foreign media have pointed to the fact that visitors' primary interest is not tourism but 'watching the games' as the reason why Paris's tourism industry is facing a downturn despite the influx of global sports spectators during the Olympics.

CBS explained, "While there are many visitors and tourists in Paris during the Olympic games, they are far from the food enthusiasts who mostly visited here in the summer in the past," adding, "Many visitors who came to Paris to watch the Olympic games currently show little interest in city sightseeing."

In fact, an industry insider running cheese tours for tourists in Paris told CBS that despite launching new products for the Olympics, their workload this summer has decreased by 40-50%.

On July 26, 2024 (local time), ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, as the French high-speed rail network faced disruptions due to arson and other incidents, employees of the French National Railway Company (SNCF) were seen explaining the situation to passengers at Paris Montparnasse Station.
[Photo by AFP]

Pure vacationers visiting Paris for travel or tourism are actually avoiding the city this summer. CBS analyzed that this is because the city is too crowded with Olympic spectators and prices are high. The broadcast added, "Travelers are not willing to bear that," and "People coming for Olympic events do not spend money like ordinary tourists."

Additionally, a train attack and communication network assault at Paris Gare du Nord just before the Olympics, along with international tensions such as the Israel-Gaza conflict and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have heightened fears that terrorism could recur in Paris during the Olympic period, increasing the sense of crisis.

Contrary to expectations of congestion, locals are somewhat surprised by the quiet atmosphere in central Paris. The local media Le Figaro visited the empty Disneyland with no queues and reported it as "a collateral victim of the Olympics."

BBC emphasized, "Hotels and restaurants in Paris are lowering prices to attract customers," adding, "Although there were concerns about high prices and crowds ahead of the Olympics, the unexpected situation might make now the best time to spend a vacation in Paris."