The resigning Minister Delegate Olivia Grégoire welcomed this Tuesday, September 3, a sharp increase in attendance rates in Paris compared to 2023. But the results remain more mixed over the summer period as a whole.
This Tuesday, September 3, on the 7th floor of the Hôtel des ministres de Bercy, the resigning Minister Delegate for Tourism, Olivia Grégoire, detailed the results of the 2024 summer season, and in particular the Olympic Games, “a success in more ways than one” for the French tourism sector. At least officially. Because, in the background, it mainly took stock of its performance before the appointment of a new government of which it should – a priori – no longer be a part. And as in any farewell party, it is easy to extend the metaphor. “If we take a look at the rankings [des Jeux]we have several medals, Olivia Grégoire observed. First trinket: that of international tourist attendance. In the host cities of the events and their surroundings, the nights booked by international tourists increased by 16% during the 17 days of the competition compared to the period from July 26 to August 13, 2023, according to figures from ADN tourisme France, which brings together institutional players in the sector. On the podium, Chinese, American and Japanese customers made their big comeback.
“Gold medal too,” continued Grégoire, for international tourism revenues, up 8% in July. Before the summer, the latter had reached 32.5 billion euros, up 6% compared to the first half of 2023“If we consider that the Paralympic Games are not yet finished but also the Francophonie summit which will be held in October and the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris in Decemberwe are entitled to hope to have a new record for international revenue this year,” predicted the minister. The latest reward awarded to French tourists, expected in droves during the Games. In total, 1.4 million domestic tourists visited Paris during the Olympic period, an increase of 27% compared to the same period in 2023. The number of overnight stays booked by French people increased by 12%. And contrary to what was announced, “during the Olympic period, and more generally since the start of the summer season, the people of the Paris region have not deserted their region any more than in 2023”, according to ADN tourism.
Bad weather and wait-and-see attitude
Olivia Grégoire also reassured on one of the fears expressed by tourism professionals ahead of the competition: “We have not observed any massive eviction phenomenon.” In other words, the proportion of tourists who decided to postpone their trip to France because of the Games did not, according to her, have any impact in Île-de-France. However, for establishments located in the anti-terrorist perimeters around the venues of the events (SILT zones), whose attendance fell drastically, the government was obliged to set up a compensation commission…
Outside the Olympic period, however, the results are more mixed. The month of May saw a 30% increase in tourist numbers compared to last year. But the bad weather and the wait-and-see attitude before the opening ceremony slowed down the start of the summer season. As a result, over the entire season (between June 29 and August 18), French customers were still down 6%. European and “long-haul” customers stabilized after six months of increase. ADN Tourisme ultimately predicts a month of August “encouraging”, especially since, according to the organization, consumption habits in recent years tend to extend well after the school holidays, until All Saints’ Day.
