Sabre unveils Olympics travel trends with families departing before Paris event

Families with children seeking quieter destinations away from the excitement of the Paris Games traded places with those heading to the French capital ahead of the Games, bookings analysis by Sabre shows.

Compared to the previous year, Sabre’s insight showed an air travel increase of 31 per cent to main host cities.

However, there was also an increase in the number of travellers leaving host cities ahead of the games. And, while the Olympics boosted travel for solo travellers and couples, the event appeared to cause a decrease in family travel, with those with children seeking out quieter destinations away from the excitement of the Games.

Sabre revealed 11 key findings:

• International travel to major host cities in the first week of the Olympics increased by 31 per cent year-on-year.
• Outbound travel from France in the week before the Olympics was up by 13 per cent year-on-year as travelers headed to quieter destinations.
• International airline capacity to France increased by 7 per cent overall for the three-week duration of the Games.
• Domestic air capacity was down in France overall following the implementation of France’s ban on short-haul domestic flights.
• The busiest day for travel to host cities was July 25th, with travel up 76 per cent the day before the opening ceremony.
• Olympic travelers made their plans well in advance, with bookings made more than 10 months ahead up 165 per cent compared with the same period in 2023.
• Fares for the Olympic weeks decreased closer to the Games.
• The highest year-on-year boost for international travel to France came from North America and Asia Pacific.
• Paris trips were concentrated in the first two weeks of the Games, with other host cities seeing more of a boost in the weeks leading up to the Olympics.
• Travel for solo travelers and couples was up, while family travel was largely down, as families chose destinations away from the hubbub of the events.
• Travel to Paris from New York and Tokyo is up significantly for the upcoming Paralympics games.

As sports enthusiasts were prohibited from watching the Tokyo Olympic games as a COVID control measure, they were eager to watch the recently concluded Paris Olympics. As such, the city, as well as other host cities, witnessed a large uplift in inbound international travel.

Notably, trips were concentrated in the first two weeks of the Olympics, with the opening ceremony week recording the highest increase of passengers compared to last year.

The graph below shows Sabre’s analysis on the increase and decrease for inbound travel to host cities.

However, there was also an increase of outbound travel from France in the week before the Olympics. Outbound travel from the host cities showed an increase of 13 per cent compared to the same calendar week of the previous year.

The graph below shows Sabre’s analysis on the increase and decrease for outbound travel to host cities.

Most travellers arrived for the games in the last minute with the day before the opening being the busiest inbound travel day with 76 per cent more inbound travel on that day compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, fares to host cities were also generally higher year-on-year for travellers making their bookings ahead of time, but fare prices typically decreased for bookings made in the first two quarters of 2024.

The highest average fare prices were 10 months before the event, matching the high demand for advanced booking. Average fares for bookings made 10 months in advance increased by 88 per cent for the week before the Olympics and steadily reduced.

There was also a significant difference in Olympic travel behavior depending on travel companies. Solo bookings increased by 68 per cent while couple booking increased by 31 per cent. However, families were much less likely to have decided to go to the Olympics and opted for a much quieter summer vacation.

With travellers coming from all around the globe, Paris saw the highest boost year-on-year from Asia Pacific, followed by North America. This was driven mostly by travellers from the US, Japan, and China who saw some of the highest year-on-year increases.

The graph below shows Sabre’s analysis on the increase and decrease of air travel to the host cities from the top 10 cities of origin compared to the previous year.

This travel analysis shows the intricate dynamics that a major event like the Olympics has for the travel industry. It has resulted in a significant uptick in travel to host cities, driven by enthusiastic solo travellers and couples. While, on the other hand, families have opted to avoid the Olympic rush preferred other destinations.

This divergence underscores the importance for the travel ecosystem to use advanced technology to better understand and cater to the diverse needs of travelers. As the industry looks ahead to future global events, having the capability to anticipate and respond to individual travel preferences will be crucial. By doing so, the travel sector can ensure it provides tailored experiences, whether travelers are heading to the heart of the action or seeking respite from it.