Tourism authorities in Paris have revealed that hotel occupancy in the city will be lower during the coming summer season than in previous years following an accommodation price surge ahead of the Olympic Games.
“We expect an occupancy rate of between 60% and 70%,” Corinne Menegaux, GM of the “Paris je t’aime” tourism office, told The Independent. According to Insee, France’s official statistics agency, this contrasts sharply with last year’s July occupation rate of 90,7%.
The French government announced in January that it would increase tourist taxes on hotels by 300% for the Olympic Games period, which angered Paris hoteliers. The Games take place from July 26 to August 11.
Menegaux said that most of the visitors attending the Olympic Games this year would be local and national and they will travel using high-speed trains, reducing the demand for hotels.
“What we compare it to is London in 2012 – where the hotels in London were very expensive at the beginning and they had to bring down the prices,” said Cristophe Decloux, General Director for Tourism in the Paris Region, indicating that prices for Paris hotels may drop before the games.
Data collected by hotel market analyst Lighthouse illustrates that Paris hotel prices are 120% higher across all star categories, compared with the same period in 2023.
