Those experiencing the Olympics in person may notice that the streets of Paris are not as crowded as was expected.
It seems that the only people who are in Paris other than those who live here and couldn’t manage to escape are those here solely for the purpose of attending the Olympics.
In the months leading up to the Games, the expectation was that the city would be flooded with tourists hoping to get a glimpse of the world's top athletes.
Shockingly, that is not the case as the numbers of those in Paris for the Olympics have fallen well below expectations.
It could be because Parisians all over TikTok scared off tourists for the months preceding the games telling them not to come or that the cost of attending was egregiously high or possibly a combination of both.
“The Louvre is so empty you could fly a plane inside of it,” Louvre tour guide recently said.
Typically, the months of July and August is a busy travel time for tourists in Europe chasing their Euro summer. According to Forbes, an international tourism industry has even gone as far as naming Paris as the world’s “most powerful tourist destination,” which is why the lack of people is shocking despite the trend of decreased visitors for past Olympics.
Air France noticed the problem earlier this month as sales were falling far behind the rest of the major European cities. In a release, the company came out stating that, “international markets show a significant avoidance of Paris.” Euro News reported that compared to 2023 tourism is down for July by almost 15%.
As the Games conclude and the tourists return home, it may take some time to fully identity the impacts, particularly the economic impacts, the Olympics had on the French capital.