Games: Air France said Paris was ‘lagging behind other major European cities’ this summer
Air France has warned it will take a £150million hit as tourists dodge Paris because of the Olympics.
The airline group said the French capital was ‘lagging behind other major European cities’ this summer – despite being the host city for the Games.
‘International markets show a significant avoidance of Paris,’ a spokesman for the company said. The Olympic Games will cause a hit of between £135million and £150million to group revenues from June until August.
Holidaymakers appear to be postponing trips until after the games or going somewhere else altogether.
‘Travel is expected to normalise after the Olympic Games, with encouraging demand levels projected for the end of August,’ the spokesman added.
The Olympics will run between July 26 and August 11. And despite the revenue hit, the company will not be scaling back its flights.
But the bleak update comes as rail group Eurostar predicts this summer’s peak travel period – which coincides with the Games – will be its busiest ever.
Air France’s warning stands in contrast to the 2012 London Olympics, which saw a surge of tourists.
Bernstein analyst Alex Irving said that while airlines can expect business travel to lag during the Olympics, wider tourism dropping is ‘surprising’.
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