The number of tourists in Paris has decreased slightly

Updates from the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau show that things have calmed down a bit as early as fall 2025. We saw a significant drop during the All Saints Day holiday, but don’t let the modest numbers fool you. The outlook for the rest of the year remains steady, with hotel bookings in late November and early December already picking up steam in time for the festive season.

October: A mild slowdown

In the first half of October 2025, congestion was slightly lower than the record-breaking highs of 2024:

• Domestic viewership is down 3.3% from 2024 (though still sitting 2.9% higher than 2023).
• Global visitors are down 4.6% from 2024 (and down 1.1% from 2023).

Flights to Paris fell sharply in October (about 10.9%). We saw a few travelers from neighbors like the UK, Italy and Germany as well as the US. On the flip side, long-haul travel is doing well with big jumps in the number of tourists from China, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

All Saints’ Day Holidays: The impact on the calendar was drastic

Toussaint’s school holidays felt significant, with overall attendance down 8.4% from last year. The international audience was particularly quiet during this episode. The main culprit? November 1st in 2025 fell on a Saturday. This eliminates the usual “bridge” weekend that usually encourages people to take a few extra days off. Even with this reduction, the number of tourists was still 5.9% higher than in 2023.

Year-End Outlook: Stability turns to growth

Despite a quiet autumn, the signs for the latter part of 2025 look good.

Air Arrivals (December 2025 to February 2026):

• Forecasts show things holding steady with a slight 0.2% increase overall.
• Fewer bookings from South Korea (down 16.6%), Portugal (down 21.1%), and the United States (down 1.9%).
• However, there is strong growth from China (up 27%) with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Japan (up between 13% and 25%).

Hotel occupancy trends

• Late November and early December are 6.2% higher overall than in 2024.
• The first few days of December are particularly busy (up 13.7%) thanks to major trade shows and conferences.
• Christmas week bookings are currently hovering slightly at minus 4.6%.
• New Year’s Eve is the star performer, the occupancy rate is already at 64.6%, which is 5.2% ahead of last year.

Interestingly, areas outside of central Paris perform well. Saint-Denis is up 5.1% and Ville de Marne is up 4%, while central Paris hotels see a slight decrease of 2.6% for the same night.

A tale of two seasons

This slow fall is often the only thing getting back to normal after two major post-pandemic years, mixed with some unfortunate calendar timing for the holidays. But the rebound we see in bookings, especially for work events and New Year’s Eve, proves that Paris has not lost its touch.

As one tourism official said, 2024 was an unusual year because of the Olympics. 2025 simply reviews a strong “new normal” that is still above where we were before the pandemic, with many growth drivers already lined up for 2026.

For now, the City of Lights is gearing up for Christmas and a bright finale on December 31st, confirming once again that it is still one of the best places in the world to end the year.