Travel companies are making plans in anticipation of the Olympics in Paris.

When it comes to travel to Paris during the 2024 Summer Olympics, tour companies have differing opinions; some encourage the event while others advise against it.

Some providers are actively marketing the destination during the Olympic Games, which take place from July 26 to August 11, in hopes of attracting tourists who might like to visit the City of Light during the quadrennial event.

Others are avoiding Paris during the Games, even canceling flights there due to the extremely high cost of hotels and airfare as well as the anticipated larger-than-usual number of people who would be visiting the city.

Some of the providers who will not be offering trips in or near Paris during the Games are Tauck, Alexander + Roberts, and AmaWaterways. During the Olympics, TTC Tour Brands will provide multicountry tours that include France, but no itineraries that are limited to France.

Tauck stated that after trying and failing in Los Angeles in 1984, it learned the hard way not to run trips in a host city during the Olympics.

According to Tauck President Jennifer Tombaugh, “it was an absolute disaster.” “Hotels have exorbitant prices. Many times, places that visitors wish to see are unavailable or closed. Additionally, the traffic is awful. We will never conduct business during the Olympics again.”

Among the companies providing cruises in and around Paris during the Olympics are Amadeus River Cruises, Avalon Waterways, and Globus; Scott Dunn provides these services on an as-needed basis.

During the Games, Globus and its river brand, Avalon, will provide set accommodation prices and flights to ensure that travellers are not surprised by price increases closer to the event. They will also provide Paris excursions and Seine River cruises.

Steve Born, chief marketing officer of the Globus family of businesses, stated, “We’re operating during that period, and the good news for travellers who want to experience Paris during that time is that we have guaranteed hotels, guaranteed rates, and there’s no price fluctuation, so we’re a sure thing.”

Custom luxury tour operator Scott Dunn will, on an invitation-only basis, provide clients who are part of its Scott Dunn Private programme with access to Olympic activities during their trips to Paris.

According to Nick Cunningham, destinations manager for Europe at Scott Dunn, “many hotels have an 18-night minimum stay at rack rates in place during the Games, so guests that are travelling need to have large budgets and be willing to pay the increased rates for the Olympic period.” “We have our black book of contacts who can get our guests into the various sporting events and opening/closing ceremonies.”

Scott Dunn stated that it will arrange visits throughout France outside of Paris for other visitors during the Games.

Travel to the city during the Games is being approached with considerable caution by suppliers that are offering Paris.

The businesses are urging customers to be understanding and patient, as the events may have an influence on operations and necessitate changes to the schedule.

“There could be some minor operational changes depending on construction or routing — we don’t know yet — but we’re well-versed in navigating around the Olympics as we’ve lived through all those before,” Born stated.

expensive airfares, certain providers of excursions to France and Paris during the Olympics have not experienced a lot of interest.

“We are not witnessing a significant surge in reservations,” stated Melissa DaSilva, TTC Tour Brands president. “I believe that is related to the exorbitant cost of flights into France from the end of June to mid-August at the moment. Although it’s currently prohibitively expensive, you’ll see a rise in the number of seats sold to the area if airlines start to somewhat lower their rates.”

There has been “a little bit of a downturn and hesitancy” with Amadeus River Cruises’ Paris sailings, according to executive vice president Marcus Leskovar, partly because of the high cost of airfare.

According to Avalon, this problem is lessened for visitors to Paris during the Olympics by its set airfare of $599 roundtrip.

The president of Avalon, Pamela Hoffee, stated, “You’re not going to get air to go to Paris for $599 during the Olympics.” “So if there are people who want to participate in some of the activities around the Games and extend their trip by taking a river cruise, I think it’s a great opportunity.”