Millions of travellers proceeded to Paris in recent weeks for the Olympic Games; Sabre, however, has uncovered promising data that suggests the Games heightened wider travel trends internationally well beyond the City of Light.
International travel to major host cities shot up by 31% during the first week of the Olympic Games against the same period in 2023; outbound travel from France was heightened to a lesser extent, up 13% during the week before the Games kicked off.
While international airline capacity to France increased by 7% overall for the Games' three-week duration, domestic air capacity fell due to the short-haul domestic flight ban in place.
Those heading to the Games made plans far in advance, with bookings made 10 months or more up 165%.
Markets fuelling France's growth during the Games were North America and Asia Pacific which fuelled the biggest annual growth for international travel.
Solo and couples' travel was up, while family travel took a hit as multi-generational groups chose destinations not concentrated with visitors and events themselves.
Lille saw the greatest increase in visitors of all the host cities, with air travel up 51%, while 33% more guests flew into Paris and Bordeaux. Nantes saw 35% more flyers arrive.
