French research organizations recently noted that the Paris Olympics are expected to boost the French economy in the short term, but that the long-term positive effects remain to be seen.
The Paris 2024 Olympics are expected to boost France’s third-quarter GDP by 0.3 percentage points, bringing the growth rate during this period to 0.5%, according to a note published last month by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee).
Ticket sales and audiovisual broadcasting revenues had a direct positive effect on French economic activity in the third quarter, representing a contribution of 0.25 percentage points, according to the same source.
Another factor of the “Olympic effect”, so weak because of its uncertainty, is the number of tourists. It will contribute only secondarily to GDP growth in the third quarter, of the order of 0.05 percentage points.
According to INSEE, the increase in the number of tourists will lead to an increase in the use of transport, as well as an increase in activity in the hotel and catering industry.
Dorian Roucher, head of the institute’s economic department, said the situation was comparable to the boost given to the British economy by the London 2012 Olympics, which contributed between 0.2 and 0.4 percentage points to the 1% GDP growth in the third quarter of that year.
The Centre for Sports Law and Economics (CDES) at the University of Limoges has estimated that between 2018, the date preparations for the Paris Olympics began, and 2034, ten years after the event, the economic impact of the “Olympic Games effect” for the Ile-de-France region will be between 6.7 and 11.1 billion euros, with a median of around 9 billion euros.
Of this amount, 70% would come from construction and the organisation of events, or 2.5 and 3.8 billion euros respectively, and 30% from tourism, or around 2.7 billion euros.
The CDES estimates that 84% of the “Olympic effect” will be released during the preparation and running of the Games, while the rest will be felt ten years after the Games, mainly in the tourism sector, bringing in 201 million and 1.2 billion euros in this area to the Ile-de-France region.
Didier Arino, director of the specialist firm Protourisme, also believes that the positive impact of the Olympic Games on the French tourism industry will continue to be felt in the years to come, because the Olympic Games “gave an exceptional image of France”.
The Paris Tourism Office expects to welcome 15.3 million tourists during the Games, while Paris usually welcomes around 12 million visitors between July and August.
According to the office, Paris welcomed 650,000 tourists from July 24 to 27, an increase of 16%, with the number of French nationals increasing by 17.3% and that of foreigners by 14.8%. The day before the opening ceremony, the number of tourists in Paris increased by 34.6% year-on-year.
Tourist numbers in Paris have dropped between June and July, which was expected, notes Corinne Menegaux, director of the Paris Tourist Office. She stressed, however, that August is traditionally very quiet in Paris, but that this year it will be “very good.”
Currently, the Paris Tourism Office predicts that the first weekend of August, the occupancy rate of Parisian hotels will be close to 90%, the booking rate during the Paralympic Games will increase by 5 to 10% compared to the same period last year.
Statistics from the same source also show that during the entire Olympic period, the occupancy rate of Parisian hotels will be over 80%, up 20% compared to the previous year, with a 60% increase in the number of nights booked in furnished tourist accommodation.
In the Centre-Val de Loire, Champagne and Normandy regions, which are closer to Paris by car, the “Olympic effect” is also very evident. According to Atout France, this phenomenon is partly linked to the number of foreign tourists who come to the capital.
With the Olympic events spread across several cities in France, there are more than 1,000 Games preparation centres across the country, serving as training and recovery bases for the 206 Olympic delegations. In fact, all cities that host Olympic events and provide training sites would benefit from the “Olympic effect”.
In Marseille, where the Olympic football and sailing events are taking place, a financial firm has estimated that the coastal city will welcome 825,000 spectators during the Games, with economic spin-offs of 179 million euros.
The town of Clichy, in Hauts-de-Seine, near Paris, has been chosen by the British delegation in 2022. More than 1,000 people, including the 327 athletes of the British delegation, their families and their staff, will stay in this small town during the Games.
A local high school, which has been renovated thanks to investment from the British delegation, has become a high performance centre for Team GB, also representing a qualitative improvement in the local sporting infrastructure.
In terms of employment, the Olympic Games will create nearly 90,000 jobs in the Ile-de-France region in areas such as hotels and restaurants, security, logistics and tourism, according to French media.
The International Olympic Committee, for its part, predicts that the Paris Games will create a total of 181,000 jobs and train 30,000 people in professional skills.
Industry professionals believe that hosting the Games will undoubtedly strengthen the “soft power” of Paris and France. As Corinne Menegaux said, “the positive effect of the Olympics must be measured in the long term.”