France’s flag carrier, Air France, is preparing for a €180m loss (£153m), as tourists avoid Paris during the Olympics.
Air France reported on Monday that despite the alleged allure of the Paris Games, many people avoid the City of Light, leaving empty seats and reducing revenue.
It said that “international markets show a significant lack of interest in Paris”, and “traffic into and out of the French capital is lagging behind traffic to other major European Cities”.
The demand for travel is expected to increase after the Olympic Games.
The official airline of the event, the carrier, has said that the trend will wipe out up to €180m in group sales between June and August.
Statista’s research shows that the London Olympics in 2012 attracted over 470,000 foreign tourists, including many from France.
Three times as many people are believed to have visited London to experience the atmosphere, without attending any events.
British Airways saw its passenger traffic increase by 3pc in July and August 2012, despite a temporary easing of the market for business travel and retail sales.
Air France reported that travel between Paris, France and other destinations was also below the average. This suggests that French tourists may have decided to postpone their travel plans until after the Olympics.
According to the airline, figures from June hotel bookings released by the Paris tourism office also show a similar trend.
Eurostar has forecast that the peak travel period this summer – which coincides the Games – will be the busiest in its history, after tickets to London-Paris trains were sold at a tripled rate when first released.
It’s possible that Paris is the real problem, not the Olympics.
Michael Ward, the managing director of Harrods in the UK, said that the department store was expecting an increase from tourists who were put off by the prospect Olympic crowds. “All of the visitors that would normally have gone to Paris are coming to London instead.”
Air France did not mention other factors that could be deterring visitors, like the concern that a victory by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in the second round parliamentary election might lead to unrest before the Olympics start in Paris.
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