An estimated 11.2 million people visited the Greater Paris metropolitan area during the Olympic Games, according to preliminary figures from tourist office Paris Je T'Aime. The number is in line with the 11.3 million visitors the organization had projected. That total, which includes tourists, day-trippers and residents of the Ile-de-France region who visited the venues, represents a 4 percent increase over the city's visitation figures from a year ago.
French visitors accounted for 85 percent of all Olympic Games visitors, also in line with projections. The only surprise occurred among the tourist segment, those visitors who stayed overnight, which made up 27.7 percent of the overall visitation total. While the tourism office had expected the breakdown to skew more heavily domestic, in fact more than half (55 percent) of the 3.1 million tourists were international visitors.
Not surprisingly, the number of overnight visitors was up significantly year-over-year, with international guests increasing by 13 percent and domestic up by 27 percent.
Foreign tourists flocked to Paris
The top three foreign markets contributing to the unexpectedly high number of international visitors were:
- United States (230,000 people, 13.5 percent of international visitors)
- Germany (130,000, 7.6 percent)
- United Kingdom (115,000, 6.8 percent)
Hosting the games also boosted other long-haul markets for Paris. Significant growth was seen from:
- Brazil (107,000 people, up 109.4 percent vs. 2023)
- China (82,000, up 64.9 percent vs. 2023)
- Japan (47,000, up 94 percent vs. 2023)
Coming from closer to home
Interestingly, the number of day-trippers (3.1 million) and residents of the Ile-de-France region (5 million) who visited for the games were roughly comparable to the total who visited last year, for a traditional summer. And the day-trippers from other parts of France were equal to the number of tourists who stayed overnight for the games.
Olympic Games' effect on lodging and air
Hotel occupancy rates went up across all of the inner suburbs of Paris during the games, rising 13.1 percentage points in Seine-Saint-Denis, 8.3 points in Val-de-Marne and 13.1 points in Hauts-de-Seine. In inner Paris, occupancy shot up 10.1 points year-over-year to 84 percent.
The high-end market experienced the steepest rise, up 16.5 points year-over-year to 85.5 percent. There was particularly strong growth in foreign stays in Saint-Denis, which skyrocketed 205 percent year-over-year.
Between the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, which run Aug. 12-27, international air arrivals are projected to rise 7.9 percent year-over-year. That represents a 4.3 percent increase for flights from Europe and a 16.1 percent boost for flights originating in North America.
