The Summer Olympics in Paris are not turning out to be the tourism draw that many expected. Air France KLM Group, the parent company of both airlines, says that the games are actually driving away visitors to France’s capital.
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The impact of all those vacationers changing their usual summer plans is expected to be as much as €180 million, or $193 million.
“International markets show a significant avoidance of Paris,” the company said in a release Monday. “Travel between the city and other destinations is also below the usual June-August average as residents in France seem to be postponing their holidays until after the Olympic Games or considering alternative travel plans.”
Likewise, tourist interest that AirBnb called “unprecedented” last year is also fizzling out. The Financial Times reported in April that most of the apartments that had been listed as available for rent during the games are failing to attract customers.
The New York Times reported last month that there is a TikTok trend where young Parisians, uneager to share their city, have been begging tourists not to visit. In an interview with the Skift this May, Paris tourism head Corinne Menegaux said that driving away visitors is not such a big deal because the Olympics provide one of the world’s most-visited cities such a large platform.
“The legacy is much more important than the two weeks itself,” she said.
