2024-07-24 08:00:31
- The big loser is the cultural sphere, music festivals have been canceled with damages for 180 million euros in 3 months. Air carriers are also suffering
- Tourists flee traffic jams and crowding. Hotels in March wanted 1,000 euros for a room, now they drop to 300 – 400
Unexpectedly for everyone, visitors to Paris on the days of the Olympics are much less than expected. About 15 million people were expected to go, but only about 60% of hotel rooms were filled in the first 10 days of July – down 10% from a year ago. That is, out of 86,700 rooms, 52,020 were occupied.
The industry reports reduced bookings and that many people will try to avoid the French capital because of traffic jams, overcrowding and inflated prices. Five-star hotels reported between 20 and 50% fewer requests compared to the same period last year, with room rates starting at €865.
“Air France” ends the quarter with a loss of 180 million euros. The American company “Delta” also reports reduced revenues – it will receive 100 million dollars less from its regular flights from various cities in the USA to the French capital. The Paris Tourist Office reports that foreign arrivals in July fell by nearly 15% compared to the same month in 2023.
All this forces businesses to change their strategy. Hotels have started reducing prices after tripling them in January. The owners were expecting a bigger influx, but they were wrong. Those who reserved rooms from last year or in March this year had to pay 1,000 euros per night for the opening, and not for a five-star hotel. Now the average price is 300 – 400 euros.
Business is not happy. “Disastrous,” said Frank Delvaux, president of the Union of Crafts and Hospitality (UMIH). According to him, a large part of the local residents have left Paris, a
traffic has become impossible
because of the measures taken for the Olympics. Some tourists may also have given up because of the elections that took place in France.
Hoteliers, according to Delvo, are struggling to fill their establishments and rooms, and the price increase is far from what is being talked about. It was double, not more.
Transportation is also much more expensive. A metro ticket will be 4 euros against 2.15 euros now. So the authorities again want to limit security threats.
But the de facto revenue has to offset the huge costs Parisians have incurred. For example, a 1.4 billion euro mega-basin was built to store wastewater, so as to prevent it from spilling into the river bed. But heavy rains in June caused an overflow and the untreated canal waters once again flowed into the Seine.
The swimming marathon is to be held there,
as well as one part of the triathlon. But a back-up spot for the first race is planned for them, as well as the opening ceremony, if the river turns out to be unsafe. Alternative dates are planned for the triathlon, and as a last resort it may become a diathlon (only cycling and running, no swimming).
For the remaining competitions, 15 Olympic and 11 Paralympic temporary stadiums were built in the city center. At the same time, measures have been taken to preserve the cultural and historical heritage of Paris. Concord Square, where the races will be held, for example, is lined with steel plates to protect the surface from the load. Such facilities also appeared next to the Eiffel Tower, the Home of the Invalids, the Field of Mars.
All this costs a lot of money. As well as infrastructure improvements. The authorities invested heavily in transport, extending one train and two metro lines to facilitate access to the stadiums. There is a direct connection to the city center from Orly Airport. The metro will connect the Place de la Concorde, the Stade de France, as well as the Bercy Sports Palace for the basketball finals.
The homeless have been removed from the city center
and were moved to smaller settlements. According to the state, this has nothing to do with the Olympics, but human rights organizations have accused the authorities of “social cleansing” before the games. The initiative also affects drug addicts as well as prostitutes, explained the organization “The other side of the coin”. According to them, everything that does not fit into the “Emilie in Paris” postcard is moved out of the city.
The big loser from holding the Olympics is the cultural sphere. Several regular events have been canceled, including the Summer Vibration and Lollapalooza music festivals. For the second one alone, the damage is about 180 million euros.
At the same time, security measures are very tight, because of terrorist threats and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, France has raised the danger level to the highest.
45,000 policemen and special officers will guard the Olympics. 35,000 agents and military have been mobilized for the July 26 opening alone, and the city has been divided into several security zones. Access for residents living nearby and tourists staying in nearby hotels will only be with a QR code. Due to the threat of a drone attack, they reduced the number of spectators at the opening ceremony from 600,000 to 300,000.
Plan A is for thousands of athletes to parade in boats for 6 km along the Seine. Each of them is equipped with cameras so that spectators can observe their pets up close on the big screens by the river.
There were also backup options for the launch
– at the Trocadero square, facing the Eiffel Tower, or at the Stade de France stadium. This was announced by President Emmanuel Macron back in April.
Again, as a security measure, traffic in the capital of France is blocked. 20 metro stations are closed. For safety purposes, tens of thousands of metal fences were installed along the route of the opening ceremony, which caused outrage among Parisians. “We are a bit like in the “Planet of the Apes”. It remains to throw a few peanuts at us,” said Aisa Yago, a resident of Paris, to the “Agence France-Presse”.
On the other hand, despite being unhappy with the restrictions, Parisians are looking forward to the Olympics so they can swim in the Seine again. This is what the authorities have been promising them for decades. Last week, the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, dived into the water to prove it was clean and swimmable.
And in the end, the Olympics have another effect – Paris expects 11.1 billion euros in revenue from holding the games.
