The 2024 Summer Olympics are creating a stir in Paris, France, but local businesses say sales have been poor.
Despite the influx of tourists and visitors to watch the games, local business owners report slow summer days due to several factors affecting the city and surrounding areas, including vandalism and security issues.
In addition to enhanced security measures throughout the city, including metal detectors and police checkpoints, certain landmarks and tourist attractions are also restricted and limited to tourist access, meaning surrounding businesses suffer.
Related: Delta CEO Says Airline Will Lose $100 Million Due to 2024 Paris Olympics
“It’s been slow since the beginning of June,” menswear store owner Jean-Pierre Salson told the newspaper. The Associated Press. “July is very bad. There are very few tourists, from all countries. I think they avoid France and Paris because they are afraid of the Olympics.”
While Parisian locals often choose to leave the city for a summer vacation, tourists without tickets to the shows avoid the area, too.
In a joint statement to Paris24, a group of unions of restaurants, hotels, shops and night spots said that, despite optimistic forecasts, “many professionals have seen their income drop by 30 percent compared to previous years.”
Hotel prices have also increased, prompting tourists to choose other European destinations to visit this summer, instead.
“It’s very quiet now,” Guillaume Faller, the manager of the restaurant in Paris, said in a statement AP. “It’s a lot quieter than the same time last year. But I think it will bounce back in a few days. At any rate, I hope so.”
Airlines are also struggling.
Related: Paris Olympics Athletes: Food for ‘Disaster,’ Teams Hire Chefs
Earlier this month, Delta Airlines announced that it expects a quarterly loss of $100 million due to the Olympics.
“Unless you’re going to the Olympics, people don’t go to Paris … very few,” CEO Ed Bastian said at the time. “Business travel, you know, other types of tourism may go elsewhere.”
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games began on Friday, July 26, and continue until Sunday, August 11.
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