With the 2024 Paris Olympics expected to begin in a few hours, demand for travel to international destinations from Paris airports has increased by 12 per cent compared to last year.

According to the global travel intelligence platform, Mabrian, such an increase in visitors drives demand for travel to destinations, particularly from Italy and the United States, Schengen.News reports.

During the Olympics, air capacity from Paris to the United States increases over +9 per cent when compared to the same period in 2023, and destinations such as New York, Los Angeles or Miami see a strong demand increase during the games’ weeks; similar to Italian cities such as Milan, Rome, and Venice.

Paris to Welcome 11.3 Million Visitors During the Week of Olympic Games 2024

Based on the latest forecasts, the French capital is expected to welcome 11.3 million visitors during the 2024 Olympic Games alone (July 26 to August 11) and another 4 million during the 2024 Paralympic Games (August 28 to September 8).

During the week of this major sporting event most of the visitors who will travel to Paris will come from different regions such as the French ones, with – 86.7 per cent, and about 1.5 million will be foreign travellers, mainly from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany.

US, Italy & Morocco Are the Most Demanded Getaways

Compared to last year’s data, the connection from Paris to the US (+9.3 per cent), Morocco, and the UK (+13 per cent) shows significant growth. At the same time, other traditional summer destinations for French travellers, such as Spain (+7 per cent) or Greece (+2.5 per cent), have also shown moderate growth.

As for other destinations such as those of the Americas, Los Angeles achieved an increase of +80% compared to the same week in 2023, Miami (+74 per cent) and New York (+42 per cent), which are also rated as the most desirable honor to travel from Paris to the US.

Taking into account that during the Olympic Games, in addition to the USA, Italy is also the most sought-after escape for this period, the demand increases in Milan (doubled in the same period last year), Rome (+53 per cent more) and Venice (+ 46 per cent).

In addition to these countries, there is an increase in demand during the weeks of this event in other cities such as London (+22 per cent year after year), Barcelona (+19% year after year), and Athens; as well as the main summer destinations for medium and long distances which are as follow:

• Istanbul (+71 per cent year-on-year)
• Tokyo (+45 per cent)
• Bangkok (+30 per cent)

On the other hand, Portugal’s demand decreased slightly compared to the same period in 2023. As among the top three summer choices, the air capacity from Paris airports has decreased, losing -7.4 percent of seats compared to the same period.