Skift Take

Attending the Olympics is a bucket list item for many sports fans, but does the worldwide focus on host cities contribute to a long-term increase in visitor numbers?

Rashaad Jorden

The Olympic Games cast an enormous spotlight on host cities, but that attention doesn't always result in large numbers of overseas visitors.

Corinne Menegaux, director general of Paris je t’aime, the city’s tourism board, said this year's Olympics won't be a major draw for non-French sports fans. Air France has backed away from expecting a bump form the Games, as has Accor.

Skift recently reported that less than 15% of the fans expected to come to Paris for this year's Olympics are foreign.

So do the Olympics have a long-term impact on tourism?

We put the question to Ask Skift, our artificial intelligence chatbot. Ask Skift used information that appeared in our past news coverage, and we did additional reporting on the subject.

What Ask Skift Said:

The impact of the Olympics on tourism is complex and varies by location and timing. Here are some key insights based on past events:

Short-Term Displacement: Hosting the Olympics can create a "ghost town" effect in central areas, as seen in London during the 2012 Olympics. Many regular tourists avoid the city due to fears of disruption, expense, and overcrowding. This phenomenon is known as "displacement."

Visitor Numbers vs. Spending: While t