The Summer Olympics had a significant impact on travel to Paris, despite the popularity of sports tourism.

Did the Parisians directly inform tourists not to visit Paris during the Summer Games?

Did high prices for hotel rooms, house rentals, and event tickets discourage travelers?

Despite predictions of a travel surge, many people, including locals, shied away from Paris before the Olympics, with forecasts failing to account for the number of travelers deterred by them.

According to John Grant, chief analyst at OAG, it is a widespread belief that host cities experience a significant increase in travelers during the Olympic Games.

"The Olympics phenomenon is that the local market doesn't travel, and the regular business traveler who would normally be traveling during that moment in time, stops and stays at home."

When the Summer Games were hosted in London, Athens, and Atlanta, there was a decrease in summer visitors, according to Grant.

He stated that it never quite meets the expectations.

Big losses by key airlines

The company announced that it expects a 150-170 million Euros ($163-184 million) hit to its unit revenues in the third quarter due to low demand for visiting Paris this summer.

Paris lagged behind other major European cities in terms of traffic earlier this month, with international markets showing a significant avoidance of the city, as announced by Air France on July 1.

The Summer Games are also projected to generate over $100 million in revenue due to a decrease in travel to France.

According to CEO Ed Bastian, people aren't going to Paris unless they're heading to the Olympics.

None of this is a surprise, said Grant.

According to the airline executive, both Air France and Delta experienced little increase in capacity compared to last August, with Air France increasing by 5% and Delta remaining unchanged. Instead, their losses are primarily due to fare pricing, he stated.

He stated that the airlines had been attempting to maintain higher fares than market demand allowed, but eventually had to discount them in order to secure any revenue.

The tourism board of Paris forecasted a decline in international air arrivals across all markets before the Olympic Games, with a 8% drop in June and a nearly 15% decrease in July compared to 2023.

The tourism board anticipates a 11% increase in arrivals during the Games, driven by visitors from Europe (+24%) and North America (+15%), but offset by significant declines in arrivals from the Middle East (-42%) and Oceania (-30%).

Empty Airbnbs and unsold tickets

Paris' summer slowdown is affecting hotels, with occupancy rates predicted to decrease to 60% in early July, a 10% drop from 2023, as stated by the city's tourism board.

Following a slow spring season of bookings, many hotels lowered their rates, similar to airlines.

The average rates for hotels in Paris have increased by nearly 70% this July, from 202 euros last year to 342 euros during the Olympic period, according to the city's tourism board. Trivago's estimates show that rates have jumped even more, with an 85% year-on-year increase in Paris and a 131% increase in Lille, which is hosting some of the Games' basketball and handballs competitions.

During the Olympics, Airbnb hosts are reducing their rates, with some cutting them by more than 50%. For instance, a two-bedroom loft near Notre Dame decreased its nightly rate from $1,407 to $683 during the first week of the Games, which is lower than its fall rate.

This summer, Airbnb reported that listings in Paris reached an all-time high, as Parisians seized the opportunity to both avoid the crowds and profit from sports tourists' tendency to spend. According to CNBC, tens of thousands of people in host cities opened their homes for the first time.

The company refused to reveal the number of unbooked listings during the Games, instead stating that the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be Airbnb's largest hosting event, with more guests staying in local homes on their platform than at any event before.

During the Paris Games, Airbnb reported that domestic interest for stays had never been higher in the weeks leading up to the event.

'The Olympics is too broad'

Despite the fact that 8.95 million tickets for the Paris Games have already been sold or allocated, last-minute travelers can still purchase tickets.

According to an analysis by the Financial Times, the resale market is experiencing a surplus of expensive tickets, which are not attracting many buyers.

Despite the popularity of sports tourism and experience-led travel, it is surprising that the world's top athletes competing in a popular city during a major global competition did not result in a significant increase in travel to the host city.

But not to Grant.

"The Olympics is too broad and not a specific event," he said. "There is a tennis gold medal to be had, but it's not Wimbledon."

Plus, there are too many events, he said.

"Although they are of good quality, it's just too generic."

— CNBC's Zenith Wong contributed to this report.