Demand for the Paris Olympics is currently low among luxury travel agencies in the United States, with wealthy travelers leaning towards other nearby European destinations.
Although host cities for the Olympics usually attract a large number of tourists, travel agencies report that bookings for the Paris Olympics, which run from July 26 to August 11, are mainly coming from average-income travelers. Luxury retailers in Europe like LVMH and Cartier have already indicated that they expect affluent tourists to avoid Paris during the Olympics and instead choose other countries, thereby boosting business outside of France.
According to flight-booking data company ForwardKeys, based in Valencia, Spain, the United States is the leading market for ticket sales to the Paris Olympics as of the end of May. Ticket bookings from the U.S. to Paris are expected to increase by 37% year-over-year.
Misty Belles, a spokesperson for luxury travel agency Virtuoso, stated, "We do see people heading to Paris, but is it as busy as we expected? I wouldn't say so."
Virtuoso's travel bookings to Paris for this summer have increased by 172% year-over-year, yet bookings for France as a whole have decreased by 22% compared to last year. Their clients are instead opting for nearby destinations like Spain and the UK, where summer bookings are up by 44% and 10%, respectively, compared to 2023.
Miami-based luxury travel services company The Prelude noted that while they have received inquiries about Olympic tickets and packages, actual bookings have yet to materialize.
The Prelude's founder, Stefan Di-Finizio said, "Considering the nature of our clients and the fact that the Olympics don't start until July, I expect to see more booking requests from mid to late June."
