Paris tourism experiences post-Olympics and ‘Trump effect’ spike
The capital is booming as foreign tourists return to France this summer
The river was cleaned for the Paris Olympics in 2024
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International tourism in Paris is set to have a boom year this summer, in what has been dubbed the post-Olympics and ‘Trump effect’.
Flights from abroad to Paris have increased by some 8% since the start of the year, states government tourism group Atout France, with figures showing that Canadians and Japanese visitors are increasingly choosing France instead of the US for their holidays.
Hotels in Paris have already seen a 5.7% year-on-year increase in their revenue per available room (RevPAR), one of the major indicators of business success, show figures from official tourism industry consulting group MKG.
“I think that Paris has been put in the spotlight so much that we are seeing a 25% rise in ticket purchases. I think it’s a sign of a good season to come,” said Oriane Miché of Compagnie des Bateaux-Mouches, to FranceInfo.
‘Summer bookings looking very good’
Tourism Minister Nathalie Delattre visited Corsica this week, and said that despite the absence of major international events in 2025 in comparison to the 2024 Olympics, “summer bookings are looking very good”.
France is even on track to “break another record” after exceeding the symbolic 100 million visitor mark in 2024 which represented a 12% increase compared to 2023, she said.
The ‘Trump effect’
Ms Delattre also claimed that President Trump’s divisive policies are partly driving the trend. She said: “We [in France] are seeing a 30% increase in Canadian and Japanese tourists, because they do not want to visit Trump's United States at the moment.”
One Pakistani tourist in France agreed. He said: “Trump is there, yes, but American people are generally nice. However, Trump’s administration has made it harder to get into the US, so it is more difficult to visit America now.”
Paris appears ready for the uptick in trips; the city is aiming to recapture the ‘Olympics effect’ by installing the highly-popular Olympic Flame ‘balloon cauldron’ in the Jardin des Tuileries, while other attractions are also expected to see high visitor numbers.
This includes the recently restored Notre-Dame Cathedral, which has been seeing 30,000 visitors per day since it reopened in December 2024.
Read also: Notre-Dame reopening: Trump to attend and how to watch first ceremony
Paris is the most popular tourist destination in the world, with around 100 million foreign visitors every year. Nationally, tourism accounts for 8% of France’s GDP, €15 billion in commercial revenue, and two million jobs, said Ms Delattre. Corsica alone generates €3.4 billion in tourist revenue, she added.
Beyond Paris
Other popular destinations in France include the wine route in the south, which has grown by 20% in eight years, hitting 12 million visitors per year now, Ms Delattre said.
The sunny south-east remains popular. One hotelier, Elisabeth Mendes of the Grand Hotel Roi René in Aix-en-Provence, said: “The Brazilians are back, as are the Canadians. About 60% of our clientele is foreign.”
Ms Delattre added that the country was glad for the opportunity to show long-haul tourists, such as those from Brazil, “hospitality à la française”.
