Around 15 million people are expected to travel to Paris this summer for the 2024 Olympics, about three million more than usual during the summer. Even though France’s position as a top destination for inbound tourists is already cemented, the Olympics are likely to have a positive impact on tourism, with economic benefits extending outside the city and lasting well beyond 2024.
The popularity of the Olympics with tourists is no surprise. The most recent Flywire-commissioned research into the preferences of luxury travelers found that 85% like to plan vacations around special events and, in research from 2023, over one-third said they were planning to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics.
We spoke to the founders of two luxury destination management companies based in France, Andy Swann Voyage and Secret Journeys, to find out what they predict the impact of the 2024 Olympics will be for travelers and how French travel providers can capitalize on the challenges and opportunities presented.
Destinations outside of Paris will see a boon in new travelers
As the world’s attention is drawn to the French capital, other cities and regions in France are likely to feel the ripple effects. 9 in 10 luxury travelers said that traveling for special events allows them to take longer trips, so many travelers may take the opportunity to explore further afield to experience as much of France as they can.
Andy Swann of Andy Swann Voyage commented, “Many people are coming to France to be part of France, but aren’t coming for the Olympics.” After all, there are plenty of reasons to visit France, and its popularity is only growing. “I see more and more Americans coming to France for summer vacations,” said Swann. With a 15-20% increase in booking on a bumper 2023, Swann felt that “having the spotlight on France has definitely helped.”
Travelers may avoid Paris altogether
Paris is known for being expensive, but the Olympics have helped inflate prices even further. Price increases have hit public transport and key attractions, but with higher-than-normal demand, hotel prices have been hit hardest, with a projected 314% increase from last year.
Luxury travelers aren’t likely to be fazed by price increases; most plan to spend more on their vacations this year than last year. However, pressure from Olympic crowds on hotel availability, attractions, and transport in the city may mean some choose to go elsewhere instead. In Swann’s experience, “the vast majority of people are staying away,” he said, “and are either going before [the Olympics] or in October/November.”
Thinking creatively, offering trips outside central Paris will allow travel providers to capitalize on the projected increase in tourist numbers visiting France and attract those who would otherwise avoid it. As Swann commented, “Clients are valuing options outside central Paris. For example, we are offering many more walking tours to discover Paris neighborhoods with a new perspective such as a tour of Le Clos Montmartre vineyard curated by our partner Secret Journeys.”
Beyond Paris, there is much more to France than most travelers even realize. Because they craft unique experiences and small group tours across seven other regions of France outside of Paris, Andy Swann Voyage has experienced a significant uptick in bookings compared to 2023.
Those that go will look for highly curated, bespoke experiences
Phillippe Hertzberg, founder of Secret Journeys suggested that travelers who do choose to go to Paris this summer may get a unique experience of the city. “While getting around might be a bit more tricky,” Hertzberg says, “everything will be open and, with many Parisians leaving for the Olympics in early July, [travelers] may get a sense of Paris still being relatively empty.”
Unique and personalized experiences are more and more in demand with luxury travelers. In fact, in the Flywire report on Travel Provider Insights 2024, 89% of the travel providers surveyed said they had seen increased demand for experiential travel themselves. What’s more, luxury travelers value travel agents/advisors for their ability to meet this demand. 93% of luxury travelers Flywire surveyed said that travel agents/advisors were the best way to create personalized travel experiences.
Having built its reputation on giving clients unforgettable personalized experiences with unrivaled access to Paris, Secret Journeys Hertzberg maintains is going even further than before. “There is [always] a high level of customization, but this [year] is different,” Hertzberg said, “We’re designing truly premium unique experiences for clients, something just for them. For example, a walking tour for the opening ceremony because you won’t be able to use a car to get there.” Thanks to Secret Journeys, the VIP guests of a key Olympics sponsor will have the opportunity to experience Paris in a way that almost no one else has.
Simplify payments to take advantage and drive growth
Special events, such as the Olympics, can provide an opportunity for travel providers, particularly in the luxury sector, to expand their business. But taking advantage of increased demand can be difficult without robust systems in place. Payment is a critical step in the booking process, but is also notable for the pain often felt by luxury travelers and travel providers alike.
Flywire’s Annual Luxury Travel Report 2024 showed that the most common problems luxury travelers experienced with international travel-related payments were unexpected fees or unclear exchange rates, limited payment options and concerns about the security of their payments. On the other side of the equation, most travel providers surveyed for Flywire’s report on Travel Provider Insights 2024 consider their payment process an extension of their brand, and recognize the impact on client experience if it is not easy to pay them. 9 in 10 agreed that the easier it is for a customer to pay the happier that customer will be. However, less than a third of the travel providers surveyed said it was very easy for them to accept international payments.
Flywire solves the payment challenges for the travel sector, providing a seamless, simple and secure payment process that drives growth. With Flywire, you can offer your clients:
- Familiar and trustworthy payment methods
- Competitive exchange rates
- A great payment experience with Flywire’s easy to use platform
- Access to Flywire’s around-the-clock multilingual support
Find out more at www.flywire.com/industries/travel.