“But where are the tourists?” In Paris, the crowds do not benefit everyone

Photo: Fabrice Coffrini Agence France Presse A tourist tries to find his way behind a barrier next to the Eiffel Tower during the 2024 Olympic Games on July 24.

Séverine Rouby – Agence France-Presse in Paris

Published at 12:34 Updated at 1:28 p.m.

• Europe

“We were told there were 15 million visitors to Paris, but where are they ?” At the end of the first week of the Games, while some are doing well, many tourism professionals are disappointed by the crowds, particularly restaurateurs.

“Usually, we spend our time turning people away, but there's room here. We have a great musical program, I'm ready, but there are no tourists,” regrets Arnaud Seite, who manages three festive barges moored along the Seine.

Julia Sedefdjian, chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Baieta in the 5th arrondissement, feels “cheated”: “We feel like we're being excluded from a party that should have been great for everyone, when we played the game and took the gamble of staying open all summer, by hiring staff.” The chef estimates her loss of business at more than 30% for the month of July, she told AFP on Thursday.

However, tourist arrivals in the capital are up compared to last year. From July 24 to 27, 650,000 visitors came, an increase of 17.3% for French nationals and 14.8% for foreigners, according to the Paris Tourist Office. “International air arrivals between July 24 and August 11 are expected to increase by 8%, with strong demand from key markets such as China (109%), Japan (42%), Germany (29%) and the United States (25%),” adds Olivier Ponti of Forwardkeys, a tourism data analysis company.

Photo: Fabrice Coffrini Agence France-Presse

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“On the hotel side, the expected occupancy rate in Paris for the first weekend of August is estimated at nearly 90%. Over the entire period of the Games, it is a little lower, at 82%, and it drops to 45% from August 12 to rise to 54% for the Paralympics”, details the leading organization in the sector, the Union of Industry and Hotel Trades (UMIH).

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Fan zones

“After the major difficulties of June and the first weeks of July, the month of September worries us. Over the summer, we risk being at best balanced compared to last year”, Olivier Cohn, general manager for France at Best Western, told AFP.

“The Olympic Games scared away the usual clientele with prices that were too high and communication that was anxiety-provoking. There were 2 million foreign tourists who scared away the 3 million usual tourists,” summarizes Didier Arino, CEO of the Protourisme consultancy. According to him, the high-end is doing well, but it is more complicated for the mid-range hotel industry because of prices that were too high.

The professionals have also adjusted their prices, which are now barely higher on average than last year: 218 euros per night in Paris and its region (301 dollars).

Hoteliers, restaurateurs, café owners and shopkeepers are now counting on the “successful opening ceremony” for “a return of attendance: the atmosphere is festive, public transport is running perfectly, despite the announced saturations”, write the main professional federations in a press release. They invite visitors “to explore the capital in a different way than through the Olympic sites.”

At Disneyland Paris, which is usually very busy in the summer, the park's app indicates much lower waiting times than usual at the various attractions.

Taxi drivers expressed their “great disappointment” and asked the government on Thursday, via their union, to compensate for their drop in activity.

“Visitors are where the Games are held, particularly around the large fan zones and Olympic competition sites,” the Tourist Office emphasizes, particularly in the 19th arrondissement, which hosts Club France, or in Seine-Saint-Denis.

This is an opportunity to present “a face and an image of Seine-Saint-Denis gathered far from caricatures,” rejoiced the president of this disadvantaged department during a videoconference on Wednesday, specifying that 50,000 people had taken advantage of the activities and concerts offered at the Parc de La Courneuve for the Games.

Other “winners” of these games in terms of attendance are the hospitality venues managed by countries or by On Location, a partner in the organization of the games that sells ticket packages and access to festive venues.

The American group, which expects more than 10,000 guests per day at its 130 venues, is sold out in some places, such as Le Palais de Tokyo.