The Paris Olympics is proving a huge economic boost to the French economy according to global card issuing and payments giant Visa. Overseas spenders in particular are driving financial success.
Visa, official payment technology partner of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, has published a list of data points breaking down consumer spend at this year’s Games.
The US payments firm found that the largest share of overseas spend has come from its US cardholders, accounting for 29% of all transactions. Brazilian and Japanese cardholders have also been spending big through, 33% and 129% more, respectively, year-over-year.
Spending at the games has also showcased the global universality of contactless payments, which have accelerated greatly in usage in the years since the COVID-19 outbreak. Of all the international payments in Paris, 78% were made using contactless, a year-over-year increase of 9%.
Charlotte Hogg, CEO of Visa Europe, said: “As a sponsor of the Olympic Movement for almost 40 years and the Paralympic Games since 2002, we know first-hand the impact that the Games can have to boost host-country economies, in line with Visa’s purpose to uplift everyone everywhere.
“Our latest data shows a significant increase in consumer spending among Visa cardholders during the Opening Ceremony Weekend. We’re particularly pleased to see the uptick in spending at French small businesses after we helped 13 million of them digitise over the last four years in Europe and connected them to spectators through the Visa Go app.”
With 206 national teams participating for a total of 10,714 athletes competing across 329 events and 32 sports, the Olympics was understandably expected to make a significant economic contribution to France.
As the host city, the main economic contribution will be in Paris. However, other cities will benefit as well, as 16 across mainland France have been chosen to host other Olympic events, as well as French Polynesia.
Visa found that there was a 39% increase in flight bookings to Paris in the lead up to the Games over the same period the year prior, with notable 120% YoY growth among travellers aged under 35.
“The increased engagement of younger generations, which we see in the travel data, is also an exciting finding and shows the reach and relevance of the Games today and into the future,” Hogg remarked.
In line with US spending, US traveller numbers again stand out, increasing by 64%, followed by Germany at 61% and Spain at 27%. These US travellers and spending are getting value for money when looking at the US team’s performance, currently leading the table with 24 gold medals and 86 medals overall.
Looking away from travel and to spending, small businesses in Paris saw a 26% yearly rise in sales from Visa cardholders during the first Olympic weekend. The most significant spending increases were in theatre and museums at 159%, food and groceries at 42%, restaurants at 36%, retail goods at 21% and entertainment at 18%.
Lastly, spending also rose in the 16 cities hosting Olympic events outside of Paris. Saint-Etienne, Lile and Marseille, where local Ligue 1 stadiums were used to host football events, saw spending increases of 214%, 100% and 38%.
The vast numbers of tourists attending Paris 2024 was expected to generate revenue of at least €2.7bn by France’s Centre for Sports Law and Economics (CDES), with the total value of the games estimated to be between €6.7bn and €11.5bn – as the Games are also expected to cost up to €9bn, organisers, the French government and taxpayers are likely praying for the latter.
