Indians Are Making Their Way To Paris But It's Not Just For Olympics 2024

With the Paris Olympics 2024 underway, France is doing its best to entice Indian tourists. India is ranked 30th in ticket sales at the Olympics 2024 despite the fact the country is traditionally not considered interested in sports other than cricket. Since the Olympics alone cannot ensure an influx of Indian tourists; the French authorities have come up with new ideas. They made an effort to make things easier for Indian visitors by introducing the widely used UPI payment system.

Speaking to Money Control, Sheetal Munshaw, head of Atout France, the French tourism promotion organisation in India, said there is undoubtedly interest in the Olympics among Indians but it won’t be the only thing driving up their number of arrivals as tourists.

“A lot of the traffic comes from Europe itself. The recovery from India will be led by travelling for events and weddings,” Munshaw told the media outlet.

She continued by saying that many of the amenities being set up for the tourists will eventually be included in the infrastructure someday and contribute to the money made from tourism.

Giving an example, Munshaw stated that some locations will be excellent for hosting incentive gala dinners and other events.

“So they (venues) will continue to be part of the legacy that the Olympics will leave with us,” she continued.

According to Munshaw, another contributing aspect is the ease of making payments in Paris.

She stated that Indians may purchase Eiffel Tower tickets through UPI or shop at Galeries Lafayette, one of the most renowned department shops, through UPI, demonstrating that now is a great moment for Indians to visit France.

Munshaw said that Jio Financial Services announced the JioFinance app’s debut in Paris, highlighting how it will facilitate digital transactions for Indian tourists.

“The French really want to receive more Indians,” she told Money Control.

India is also contributing significantly to the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) industry.

This year, France anticipates a full post-pandemic rebound in terms of arrivals from India.

“We had 700,000 tourists from India coming to France in 2023, up from 550,000 in 2019. We had a good recovery of 70-80 per cent. Going by the trend this year we should be at the same level as pre-COVID,” Munshaw emphasised.