Holidaymakers are returning to Paris for winter holiday magic as the tourism industry rebounds, inspired by the successful Olympic Games and the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral. "This year there is much more tourism than last time I came here. Much much more. Many more people," said Noemi Rizzato, a tourist from Milan who braved the cold to visit the Place du Trocadero on the Right Bank of Paris, bundled up in her down jacket.
Georges Bardot, a 78-year-old pensioner from eastern France, also pointed to large numbers of foreign tourists amid the holiday hustle and bustle in the City of Light. "We heard every language except French spoken on the metro," Bardot laughed.
This winter, Parisian hotels are experiencing a surge in demand. The booking rate for two-week Christmas vacations neared 70 percent in mid-December, nine percentage points higher than a year ago, according to data from MKG Consulting. Top-of-the-range establishments are doing particularly well, with an increase of nearly 14 points over one year.
According to the UMIH hotel and restaurant union, well-heeled international customers are making a comeback. Frank Delvau, UMIH president for the Paris region, pointed to what he called an "Olympic effect." The Games "have made tourists want to come back, or to visit," he said.
Tourism professionals said the world's largest sporting event led to a lacklustre summer in Paris. Wealthy Parisians fled the capital for the summer and many foreign holidaymakers chose to stay away due to transport gridlock and a security crackdown. Hotels and airlines such as Air France saw a drop in bookings, leaving taxi drivers and restaurant owners feeling the pinch.
With five billion viewers, the Paris Games were the most followed Games in television and social media history, according to the International Olympic Committee.
"We needed this catch-up effect because the situation was very difficult in the third quarter," Delvau shared. "There was a very sharp fall in visitor numbers. The restaurant business was down 40 percent, 50 percent at times," he added.
From November 1 to December 8, international air arrivals to Paris rose by 15.4 percent compared to 2023, reaching 1.3 million, according to the Paris Tourist Office. On the Ile de la Cite, the island site of Notre Dame cathedral, shopkeepers eagerly await the return of visitors after five years of reconstruction work, as well as the coronavirus lockdowns.
"The Notre Dame opening this year was the biggest item on our list," mentioned Teju Arora, an engineer from the United States. "And we did visit Notre Dame; it was amazing. It's a beautiful site and it was great to see, to pray, to visit," said Arora, wearing a red beret.
Around 270,000 people have visited the medieval masterpiece during the first eight days post-reopening on December 1, according to rector Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, who told French daily Le Parisien, "Around 30,000 people a day enter the cathedral." Tourists "tell themselves it's time to go to Paris," Delvau expressed, noting the allure of Notre Dame combined with the festive department store decorations drawing crowds.
The combination of the Olympic influence and the holiday season has sparked renewed interest among travelers eager to experience the magic of Paris once more, setting the stage for what many hope will be a continued rise over the coming months.
