Unpleasant news for tourists: prices for Paris attractions and transportation will increase due to the Olympics

Thanks to the Rugby World Cup it hosted in 2023, France ended the year as the world's most visited country. Hosting hundreds of thousands of fans from 19 other competing nations undoubtedly helped France remain the world's top tourist destination, and it looks set to maintain that position when Paris hosts the Olympic Games in July and August.

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and ForwardKeys, booking data suggests that France "will maintain its top spot as the world's most popular country for international arrivals this year." But such popularity seems to come at a price - as reported by TheStar for visitors.

Blaming a 90% increase in energy prices in 2021 and 2022, the Louvre announced in December that it would add 5 euros to the entrance fee, bringing the price of admission to 22 euros.

If it receives anything like the nearly nine million visitors recorded in 2023, this increase will allow the museum to earn about €115 million in admission revenue this year, taking into account the 40% or so of visitors it says are admitted free of charge.

But visitors to Paris will have to pay more not only to see the Mona Lisa on display at the Louvre but also to get to the museum across the city. The cost of tickets for the Paris Metro will almost double during the peak period from July to September, when the capital will host not only the Olympic Games but also the Paralympics, which will begin on August 28.

Visitors to France, and Paris in particular, should prepare for further price increases at the end of the year as demand for airfare and hotels increases due to the Summer Olympics, which is generally considered the second-largest international sporting event after the FIFA World Cup.

In Paris, visitor numbers have already returned to levels last seen before the Covid pandemic. The Eiffel Tower welcomed 6.3 million visitors in 2023, even more than in 2019.

Paris' revival is part of a global recovery that is bringing travel back to pre-lockdown and border closures levels. UN Tourism, the United Nations body better known by its old name, the World Tourism Organization, said in mid-January that global travel numbers should return to pre-pandemic levels this year.

The EU's statistics agency reported in January that in 2023 the number of tourists in the bloc exceeded the figures for 2019 when measured by the number of nights spent in hotels.

Earlier, TravelWise told you why you should visit Paris in 2024. In particular, about the great places to see.