Games a big draw for Chinese tourists

Chinese fans take a picture with the Olympic rings displayed outside the South Paris Arena in Paris, France, on Tuesday. WEI XIAOHAO/CHINA DAILY

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are definitely the main event attracting crowds of Chinese tourists who are flocking to France this summer, and the impact of this for France's tourism and economic growth may continue in the post-Olympic era, said tourism experts.

Travel portal uzai said that tour bookings to France have seen a notable growth on the platform during the Olympics, and thousands of its customers will head to Paris to experience the sports gala.

Han Jie, chairman of CYTS Aoyou Company, a travel agency headquartered in Beijing, said that tour bookings to France started increasing from mid-June, and the number of tour groups to France saw a year-on-year growth of 60 percent this summer. He said that the first tour group for the Olympics had arrived in Paris on Tuesday — four days after the Games opened.

"The sports gala is definitely one of the most important driving forces for the tourism boom to France and Europe, which is also a chance to boost the Chinese people's understanding of culture and tourism resources in France," he added.

Trip.com said that as of late July, tour bookings to Paris during the Olympics by tourists from the Chinese mainland grew 114 percent year-on-year and their hotel bookings in the city surged 194 percent on the platform.

However, the soaring prices of flight tickets and hotels may hamper the trips of some would-be tourists. Figures from travel portal Qunar show that hotel bookings in Paris, from late July to the end of August, doubled from those in the previous year on the platform while the price per night increased 31 percent on average.

"We drew up an economical spending plan of about 20,000 yuan ($2,773) per person earlier this year, but the budget will double I think," said Li Yanjun, a 32-year-old communication engineer from Beijing, who landed in Paris with his wife on Thursday to start a five-day visit to the city.

Most of the couple's spending is on flight tickets and hotel accommodation. "The round-trip ticket is around 8,000 yuan per person and the room was about 2,300 yuan per night. We plan to cut expenses on food and shopping. It was my wife's wish to watch the Olympic Games when I proposed to her."

Tourism experts and industry insiders said that France is a traditional popular destination for Chinese travelers. They said that France's Olympic-related tourism boom will also create spillover effects for other European countries.

"We've seen some of our customers avoiding France during the Olympics due to the high prices and opting for Germany, Switzerland and Italy as their summer trip destinations," said Qi Chunguang, vice-president of travel portal Tuniu. He said that there are many inquiries about tours to Paris and France after the Olympics.

Han, from CYTS Aoyou, suggested that would-be travelers avoid the peak season to France or Europe, to ensure a more economical trip. "The tourism boom will continue after the Olympics ends as European countries are traditionally top travel choices for Chinese tourists."