Paris is set to be one of the hot spots on the 2024 summer tourism calendar thanks to the 2024 Olympic Games. This event is also driving demand from Parisian airports for travel to international destinations, which is growing by around 12% on average compared to the same weeks last year. This is the main conclusion of the report “Escaping the Olympic crowds: travel trends from Paris”, by the global tourism intelligence platform Mabrian, produced in collaboration with The Data Appeal Company (part of Almawave Group), and which focuses on the international destinations that will benefit from this increase in demand from the French capital.
This report identifies demand trends based on a cross-analysis of several indicators, over the three-week period from 22 July to 12 August 2024, when the main Olympic event will take place. This analysis* combines cyclical trends in summer demand; air demand, based on flight searches; and air capacity, expressed in seats on direct one-way flights, for searches three months in advance, up to 16 July 2024.
As Carlos Cendra, Partner and Director of Marketing and Communications at Mabrian, points out, “Italy and the United States will be the countries that will benefit the most from this increase in demand, which is also driven by the combination of greater availability of seats to and from Paris, thanks to the Olympic Games, and the growth in foreign tourist demand from the French capital this year.”
During the Olympic Games, air capacity from Paris to the United States increases by more than 9% compared to the same period in 2023; and destinations such as New York, Los Angeles or Miami experience a sharp increase in demand during the weeks of the Games, similar to Italian cities such as Milan, Rome and Venice.
Olympic visitor numbers in figures
In a year when Paris is expecting, according to the latest French government forecasts, 11.3 million visitors during the 2024 Olympic Games alone (July 26 to August 11), and another 4 million during the 2024 Paralympic Games (August 28 to September 8), alternatives for travel to other domestic and international destinations are increasing, in an attempt to get away from a city whose population density could increase fivefold.
To give an idea of the impact of the expected influx of tourists to the French capital, according to the French National Institute of Statistics (INSEE), Paris has around 2.1 million inhabitants. The city is the centre of the Île-de-France region, known as the Paris Region, where an estimated 12.4 million people live. The vast majority of visitors to Paris during this major sporting event will come from other French regions (86.7% according to official forecasts), and around 1.5 million will be foreign travellers, mainly from the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.
“Tourist demand for Paris during the Olympic Games has been consistently high since last February, and there is no doubt that the city will be very busy in the coming weeks,” says Mirko Lalli, CEO and founder of The Data Appeal Company. “Accommodation rate trends show that, although prices had to be adjusted to ensure occupancy, they are 50% more expensive than the same period in 2023, OTA saturation is 30% higher, and accommodation is close to being sold out for the opening night of the games.”
Old favourites and far-flung destinations: where travellers will go
According to Mabrian data on flight searches, options for travelling abroad differ compared to the same weeks in 2023, as long-distance travel gains strength, while demand for traditional summer destinations behaves more unevenly.
Overall, connectivity from Paris to the United States (+9.3%), Morocco and the United Kingdom (+13% both) shows significant year-on-year growth, and other traditional summer destinations for French travellers, such as Spain (+7%) or Greece (+2.5%) are increasing moderately.
The United States and Italy are the most popular destinations for this period. For American destinations, Los Angeles (+80% compared to the same weeks in 2023), Miami (+74%) and New York (+42%) are the most popular destinations for travel from Paris to the United States. As for Italy, demand is increasing for Milan (twice as much as in the same period last year), Rome (+53% more) and Venice (+46%). According to Lalli, the reputation and perception of French travellers for Italian destinations reflect this enthusiasm that is driving demand. “Milan, Rome and Venice are important hubs for air connectivity, with their inherent charm, important cultural landmarks and it is also the point from which to organise other adventures to other Italian destinations.” This is why the Sentiment Scores from The Data Appeal Company achieved by the three Italian cities among French travellers are quite high: 84 for Venice, 82 for Rome and 80 for Milan (out of a possible 100).
During the Olympic weeks, demand also increases to traditional destinations such as London (+22% year-on-year), Barcelona (+19%) and Athens, as well as to traditional summer destinations such as Istanbul (+71%), Tokyo (+45%) and Bangkok (+30%). Other destinations experiencing increased demand during the Olympic celebrations are Canada, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
In contrast, demand to Portugal is slightly down compared to the same period in 2023. Portugal, which is usually among the top three summer travel options, also recorded a slight decline in air capacity from Paris airports during the weeks analysed, losing 7.4% of seats compared to the same period in 2023, mainly as a result of the reduction in seats on flights connecting Lisbon and Porto.
* Sources: Mabrian.
Mabrian travel intelligence (via social listening), global flight and air capacity searches, and analysis of 100 million Booking.com reviews. D/AI Destinations – The Data Appeal Company-Almawave Group: Sentiment Score analysis; based on the digital footprint of over 130 online sources and platforms.