Olympic travel dreams

Although the start of the 2024 summer Olympic games in Paris is just a week away, there is still time for hopeful attendees to book tickets. Given the expected crowds, many travellers opted to avoid Paris this summer, prompting recent earnings warnings from airlines focused on the city. Nevertheless, with a relatively strong dollar and continued desire to travel, total inbound passengers to Europe from North America are on pace to expand 7% this year.  Further, the European Travel Commission expects tourists to spend 13.7% more in Europe this year compared to 2023. Notably, travellers from abroad are exploring a wider range of destinations. For instance, so far this year international arrivals in Malta have rise 31.1% year on year and 27.9% in Norway.

Source: European Travel Commission, TourMIS , July 2024.