PARIS (DPA) : Just ahead of the commencement of the Olympic Games in Paris, there will be a rise of approximately 20% in admission prices for the Eiffel Tower, adding to the recent surge in prices affecting tourism in one of Europe’s most frequented cities.
The increase is set to take effect from June 17, a little over a week before the Olympics start, the newspaper Le Parisien reported on Thursday.
For an adult, a ride in the lift to the top of the Eiffel Tower is set to cost 35.30 euros ($38.22) instead of the previous 29.40 euros. Anyone wishing to climb the steps to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower will soon have to pay 14.20 euros instead of 10 euros.
The operating company has justified the increase by pointing to high losses incurred during the pandemic and the increased cost of maintaining the now 135-year-old structure.
However, this is only the latest in a series of price hikes hitting Paris tourists ahead of the 2024 Olympics.
Blaming a 90% rise in energy costs in 2021 and 2022, the Louvre announced in December it would add 5 eurosto the door fee, taking the entry price to 22 euros.
If the sprawling museum gets anything like the almost 9 million visitors recorded in 2023, the increase would see it earn around 115 million euros from gate receipts this year, once the 40% or so of visitors it says get free entry are accounted for.
But visitors to Paris will not only have to pay more to see the Mona Lisa, which is on display in the Louvre, but it could cost them more to get across town to the museum.
Tickets for the Paris underground rail network will be almost doubled during the peak July – September period, when the capital will host not only the Olympic Games but the Paralympics, which will start on Aug. 28.
This widely criticized measure is intended to help offset the additional costs of an expanded service. Under pressure from employees, the transport companies are also paying a bonus for working during the games.
Visitors to France, and Paris in particular, should likely brace for more price hikes as demand for flights and hotels surges for the Summer Olympics, which is usually regarded as the second-biggest international sporting event after the football World Cup.
While surging prices in Paris are set to be only temporary, the increased admission prices for the Eiffel Tower will continue to apply after this summer’s Olympics (July 26 to Aug. 11).
Due to the lack of tourists, the Eiffel Tower recorded losses of over 100 million euros during the pandemic, which the city of Paris only partially covered.
The operators also incurred additional costs when painting the tower for the 21st time, as toxic lead was discovered when removing old layers of paint.
Painting the landmark, which Parisians affectionately refer to as the Iron Lady (“dame de fer”) requires around 60 tonnes of paint to be applied to the tower.
Paris had already seen visitor numbers return to the heights last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eiffel Tower in 2023 received 6.3 million visitors, even more than in 2019.
