Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2025

Olympic and Paralympic Games (OPG) : which issues for tourism stakeholders and how promoting local tourism in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis ?”

Résumé

Chappelet (1996) discusses the Gigantism of the Games, each new edition increase the number of sports disciplines, participants, venues, and costs. In addition, the mega-events involve major expenditure on hosting and bidding (Hall, 1989) and are part of regional planning. How can the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OPG), a global event, help to develop local tourism and how can this new image diffused by the event have a positive effect on the destination? We're wondering about the actions taken by the City of Paris and the collaboration with Seine-Saint-Denis to meet the current tourism challenges (sustainable and resilient tourism) in the run-up to the Games. We will analyse the public policies accelerated by the OPG and the relationships between stakeholders. This research is in line with current research on mega-events by examining the organisational legacy of the OPG for local stakeholders from a tourism and heritage point of view. The Games are an opportunity to transmit to the whole world the image that local actors want to give their city (Thanh et al., 2014, Pappas, 2004). However, image effects are possible but not systematic (Muller, 2014). As Houiller-Guibert (2022) points out, events make it possible to make places attractive while using the image of the territories, while partially modifying it. Questionnaire surveys show that 42% of respondents believe that the Seine-Saint-Denis neighbourhoods hosting the events will be enhanced with the Games (Gignon and Delaplace, 2021). Also, OPG are associated with the eviction of tourists: the scale of the event and the anticipated congestion can discourage leisure visitors and professionals from coming to the host city during this period (Matheson, 2006, Preuss, 2011). As part of this mega-event, the tourism stakeholders in these host cities are seeking to respond to local issues. The Office de Tourisme et des Congrès de Paris (OTCP) estimates that 43% of visitors will be from the Paris region. This intervention is based on a thesis that uses a qualitative methodology with semi-directive interviews. We are relying on an immersion in a department of the City of Paris between January 2020 and April 2023, which was carried out as part of a CIFRE thesis. Once we had completed our interviews, we transcribed them and then analysed them using MaxQDA software, which enables us to identify elements by assigning them a code by theme. Thematic analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six phases: transcription, data familiarisation, initial coding, theme identification and revision, detailed analysis, and selection of illustrative examples linked to the research question. The ex-ante observations (direct and participant) took place at meetings and through informal interactions, the findings being recorded in field notebooks. A typology of stakeholders has been developed to identify those who should be surveyed. It comprises three main groups. Firstly, tourism stakeholders, divided into: institutional tourism development stakeholders, hospitality stakeholders and other tourism developers. Secondly, the stakeholders of the OPG, divided into those preparing the event and direct participants. Thirdly, the indirect Olympic stakeholders involved in the preparation of the event, including those hosting the Games and non-tourism stakeholders indirectly involved in the organisation. Our analysis highlights the involvement of local stakeholders and their active role. We examine both the similarities and the specificities of each. Paris' objective is not to increase the number of tourists, but to improve the quality of the visitor experience. Excursionists and local visitors have been put at the centre of attention, and efforts have been made to attract them. Stakeholders are seeking to promote a positive image of the region. One of Paris' main objectives is to use the Games to promote more sustainable tourism, as highlighted by Visitors Bureau. The analysis we have carried out shows how an event can accelerate local public tourism policies. In the case of the 2024 Games, the attractiveness of Greater Paris through the hosting of the Olympic Games will require the acceleration of public policies, as part of an overall approach to increasing "the attractiveness of metropolises [...] by improving their accessibility and diversifying their urban offer" (Houllier-Guibert, 2021). Seine-Saint-Denis is a key contributor to the event, with built, temporary and existing venues.Tourism stakeholders have taken advantage of this opportunity to develop their ambitions, and visits to construction sites in the run-up to the Games have enabled local residents to discover an area that is undergoing transformation and is culturally diversified. Seine-Saint-Denis aim is to use Games to showcase the region and improve local tourism. A local stakeholder explained that the challenge is to raise awareness of the quality of the local tourism offering. There is a major image issue because of the department's poor image in the collective imagination We can see the importance of stakeholder involvement in the development of the territory and how the event helps to accelerate public policies in support of sustainable and resilient tourism.

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Dates et versions

hal-05430990 , version 1 (24-12-2025)

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  • HAL Id : hal-05430990 , version 1

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Alexia Gignon. Olympic and Paralympic Games (OPG) : which issues for tourism stakeholders and how promoting local tourism in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis ?”. EASM 2025, Sustainability in Sports Management, Hungarian University of Sports Sciences, Sep 2025, Budapest, Hungary. ⟨hal-05430990⟩
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