Travel Demand to Greece from Paris Increases During Olympic Games Weeks

Photo source: Paris 2024 Olympics

Greece is among the countries expected to benefit from the surge in travel demand to international destinations prompted by the Olympic Games in Paris, with an anticipated increase in visitor numbers between July 22 and August 12, according to travel intelligence provider Mabrian Technologies.

Data from flight searches conducted between July 22 and August 12, as detailed in Mabrian’s report “Escaping the Olympic Crowds: Travel Trends from Paris to the World”, indicates that tourist flows from the French capital to Greece are expected to increase by 2.5 percent compared to the previous year. Athens is also expected to see a boost in visitors during the Olympics period.

Photo source: Athens Development and Destination Management Agency

Travel demand to foreign destinations from Paris up 12%

According to the report, Paris is expected to significantly increase its population density during the weeks of the Olympic Games.

“This surge in visitors is spurring travel demand to international destinations, such as Italy and the United States, that harness this desire to leave crowds behind, also benefiting United Kingdom, Spain, and Greece, as well as farther destinations, such as Thailand or Japan,” an announcement by Mabrian said.

Overall, during the Olympics, travel demand from Paris airports to international destinations is expected to grow by some 12 percent compared to last year, driven by the significantly higher number of tourists expected to visit the French capital during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Destinations to benefit from demand surge from Paris

According to Mabrian’s report, Morocco and the UK lead the countries benefiting from increased traffic from Paris, with growth rates of 13 percent. The US follows with a 9.3 percent increase, Spain with 7 percent, and Greece with 2.5 percent.

Photo source: Mabrian

In terms of cities, Milan tops the list with a 102.9 percent increase in demand compared to the same period in 2023. Los Angeles and Miami follow with 79.5 percent and 73.9 percent, respectively. Rome (53 percent demand increase) and Venice (45.6 percent) are next, followed by New York (42.4 percent), Naples (34.5 percent), and London (22 percent). Barcelona records an 18.5 percent demand increase, while Athens secures a place in the top 10 with a 15.3 percent rise in demand.

Moreover, Mabrian’s data shows that demand for long-haul destinations remains robust. Notable mid- and long-haul destinations include Istanbul (+71 percent), Tokyo (+45 percent), and Bangkok (+30 percent). Significant increases are also observed for Canada, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai (88.5 percent) and Abu Dhabi (156.3 percent).

Photo source: Mabrian

Conversely, demand for travel to Portugal has decreased slightly compared to the same period in 2023. Specifically, there is a 7.4 percent annual decline in the number of available air seats from airports in the French capital to Portugal during the Olympics weeks. The decline includes a 35.2 percent drop in demand for Lisbon and a 56.7 percent decrease for Porto.

Paris expected to welcome 11.3m visitors during Olympics

According to French government forecasts, Paris will host 11.3 million visitors during the 2024 Olympic Games (July 26 to August 11) and an additional 4 million during the 2024 Paralympic Games (August 28 to September 8).

The vast majority of visitors that will travel to Paris during the major sports event will come from other French regions (86.7 percent as per official forecasts), and around 1.5 million will be foreign travellers, mainly from the United Kingdom, United States, and Germany.

To unveil trends on travel demand during the three-week period analysed (between July 22nd and August 12th, 2024, when the main Olympic event will take place), Mabrian carried out a cross-analysis. The resulting insight combines air demand, based on flights searches and air capacity (seats in one-way direct flights, for three months in advance searches, up to July 16, 2024), with cyclical summer demand trends.

Mabrian’s report was conducted in cooperation with The Data Appeal Company (part of Almawave Group).