Ed Bastian says Olympics is turning tourists off Paris and costing Delta $100 million

Over 40 million tourists flock to Paris annually, drawn by the City of Love’s allure. However, the upcoming Paris Olympics are disrupting many iconic spots, including the River Seine, deterring many visitors.

“Unless you’re going to the Olympics, people aren’t going to Paris…very few are,” Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC. “Business travel, you know [remains], [but] other types of tourism is potentially going elsewhere.”

This year’s summer Olympics, the first Paris Olympics in 100 years, takes place between 26 July and 11 August, with some 15 million visitors expected to attend the once-in-a-lifetime experience, Le Monde reports.

However, just 2 million are expected from overseas, with vacationers put off by the prospect of large crowds and hiked prices.

To put that into context, over 10 million people usually visit The Palace of Versailles alone each year. 

As a result, Delta’s third-quarter profit and revenue forecast has fallen short of Wall Street expectations. 

The Atlanta-based carrier has especially felt tourist’s aversion to the major sporting event because it services more American travel to France than any other US airline, in a joint venture with Air France.

The carriers have a combined 70% market share in nonstop service between France and the US, CNBC reports.

Fortune has contacted Delta for comment.

Air France is facing the same dilemma

Air France, France’s national carrier and the official airline for the event, is similarly bracing itself for a €180 million ($196 million) blow as tourists avoid the French capital due to the Olympics.

“International markets show a significant avoidance of Paris,” the carrier said in a statement.

“Travel between the city and other destinations is also below the usual June-August average as residents in France seem to be postponing their holidays until after the Olympic Games or considering alternative travel plans.” 

The company’s statement lines up with data from the Paris tourism office, which recently forecasted a 15% drop in foreign arrivals in July 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.

And it’s not just airlines feeling the brunt of an emptier-than-usual Paris—even hotels are anticipating being less than 80% full.

“The president has ruined the party”

While most experts and businesses blame Paris’s lack of tourists this summer on non-Games enthusiasts, some have pointed the finger at French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent snap election.

Now, political chaos with a messy hung parliament has raised security questions just in time for the Olympics—and there’s nothing like the prospect of riots to discourage tourism.

The timing of Macron’s decision to dissolve parliament has been “catastrophic for the Games”, Pascal Boniface, head of Paris-based think-tank Iris and an expert on the politics of sport, told The Guardian. “We are in the thickest of fog over the future.”

Meanwhile Anne Hidalgo, the city’s mayor, has accused Macron of leaving the country’s image dented.

“With an action that abused the French people, the president has ruined the party,” Hidalgo told The Times. “Why spoil this beautiful moment?”

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