The Paris Olympics 2024 has witnessed a travel spike of almost 12% compared to the previous year’s numbers. If we compare last year’s numbers for the flight searches to Paris just before and after the summer games, the numbers have notched up 25% higher.
Many prominent technology insights companies have stated that the sudden surge is most likely the anticipation of the summer Olympics. In the coming months, the heightened trend that is witnessed will play a significant role in shaping the French travel landscape. The insights state that if utilized properly, this trend can open up several business opportunities to enhance the market share and capitalize on the fan’s sports enthusiasm this summer.
Mabrian, a global travel intelligence platform, states that this heightened visitor trend will surely cap the need to travel to various destinations within France, especially from the United States and Italy. Some studies have suggested that the air capacity from Paris to the United States has increased by over 9 percent if we compare last year’s numbers. Rome, Milan, and Venice have witnessed an escalated demand during the games week.
As per the forecast from Mabrian, Paris is expected to welcome 11.3 million visitors during the summer Olympic games and would further extend its arms to 4 million tourists during the Paralympic Games, which starts on 28th August and lasts till 8th September. 1.5 million tourists from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy are set to touch base in Paris during the Olympics.
Flight searches are surging to an all-time high
Flight searches to Paris have surged to an all-time high from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Spain, and Brazil, leading the flights to be priced 33% higher than last year. Germany has been the leaderboard in flight searches, accounting for 144% of travel dates around the summer Olympics compared to last year. Other main markets, such as the US, the UK, and Brazil, have relatively lesser numbers at 72%, 60%, and 50% respectively.
US, Italy & Morocco stand among the getaway leaderboards
The US has witnessed a travel surge of 9.3%, with Morocco and the UK clocking 13% growth in connecting flights from Paris compared to last year’s numbers. Traditional summer holiday destinations for the French population, such as Greece and Spain, have witnessed moderate growth at 2.5% and 7%, respectively.
In the same period, US cities such as Los Angeles, Miami, and New York were the most desirable destinations from Paris, clocking 80%, 74%, and 42%, respectively, compared to last year’s numbers. Let’s compare the same period for Paris to Italy, where the travel demand has almost doubled for Milan, and Rome and Venice have an escalated travel demand of 53% and 46%, respectively.
European cities such as London, Barcelona, and Athens have also witnessed travel surges in this period. Other long-distance destinations such as Istanbul, Tokyo, and Bangkok have witnessed an escalated surge of 71%, 45%, and 30%, respectively. Portugal’s travel demand has reduced compared to 2023 numbers. The French population’s top summer destinations have witnessed a decreased travel capacity of almost 7.4% compared to 2023.