With a week to go before the UEFA Euro 2016 soccer tournament kicks off in France, the international accommodation rental website, Airbnb, has announced it's expecting over 250,000 tourists in Paris and other host cities.
Over the course of a month, France will be the focal point of European football as the Euro tournament brings the beautiful game to several of the country's cities. Supporters will be flocking to Paris, as well as Lille, Marseille, Bordeaux and other destinations to watch games and soak up the atmosphere. British visitors were first in line to snap up Airbnb accommodation during the tournament, with an estimated 45,000 Brits expected in France.
Although the tournament only features European teams, travelers of other nationalities have shown plenty of enthusiasm when it comes to booking Airbnb rentals during the month-long event. Visitors from the USA were the second most keen to snap up bookings (37,000), and plenty of Australians (10,000) are heading to France too. However, there's no way of knowing whether these tourists are coming to France specifically for the Euro or whether they're simply making the most of the spring/summer season to visit the country.
On the other hand, there seems to be considerably less doubt about what's drawing the 12,000 Germans who've booked French accommodation on Airbnb, let alone the 7,000 Irish, 6,000 Austrians, 5,300 Swedish, 5,000 Belgians, 4,500 Spanish and 3,000 Italians.
Over 118,000 tourists in Paris for Euro 2016
Airbnb expects to host 118,000 visitors in Paris during the tournament, all of whom booked accommodation via its platform. With the Stade de France stadium -- the venue for the opening match and final -- located just outside the French capital, it's no surprise to see Paris top the league when it comes to visitor numbers. Next in line is Marseille, Airbnb's second most popular destination with 38,000 expected visitors, ahead of Nice in third place (28,000 visitors). Tourists are no doubt keen to book breaks that kill two birds with one stone, enjoying a getaway on the Riviera while also taking in a Euro 2016 match.
For Airbnb hosts, the Euro is a nice little earner ahead of the main summer getaway. In Nice, Airbnb hosts can enjoy average revenues of about $1,325. Parisian host revenues are an estimated $1,225, on average, followed by $865 for Lille.
The UEFA Euro 2016 runs June 10 to July 10, 2016.
