By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

0.3 points to the French GDP is expected according to the first calculations to add the Olympic Games the third quarter of the year with tourism of course at the forefront.

In essence, the Games are the ones that will move the slow-moving ship of the French economy at the moment, since thanks to them it will be able to catch the 0.5%.

That 0.3 points will come from ticket sales and TV rights alone.

To these should be added the “footprint” of tourists who flood the French capital and beyond (for example the sailing events are held in Marseille).

Between July and August Paris welcomes around 12 million visitors.

This year 15.3 million are expected according to the French tourism agency, an increase of 27.5%. In the three-day period of July 24-27 alone, 650,000 tourists flocked to Paris, a number up 16% on last year.

On the day of the opening ceremony (July 26), the number of visitors was increased by 34.6% compared to last year. Occupancy in hotels has reached 90% while throughout the games it will be over 80% in a period that under normal conditions is characterized by people in the French tourist market as particularly “quiet” as the occupancy does not exceed 60 %

And the data provided by Visa on the spending behavior of Olympic travelers is impressive and shows that everyone has a share of the profit pie.

During the first weekend of the games (27-28 July) Paris small businesses increased their sales from Visa cardholders by 26%. The biggest increases were recorded:

In theaters and museums 159%
In food and supermarkets 42%
In restaurants 36%
In retail +21%
In entertainment +18%

According to Visa, flight bookings to Paris ahead of the Games have increased by 39% compared to the same period in 2023.

The economic benefits of the Olympic Games are not limited only to the period of their holding.

The center for legal and economic sports studies in Limoges estimates that from 2018, when the preparations for the Olympics began, to 2034 – a decade after their completion – they will have returned to the French economy an amount between 6.7 and €11.1 billion.

70% of these will come from construction and 30% from tourism.