Servantrip, the world’s leading B2B tours, activities and transfer platform, highlights a significant challenge facing the travel industry during the upcoming Olympics: transfers.
From July 15 to September 8, 2024, there may be deviations in various parts of the city. The opening ceremony will take place on Friday, July 26, 2024, along the Seine, resulting in road closures in the surrounding area. Travel agencies and tour operators should inform their clients that they anticipate significant issues such as the following:
Early reprogramming of services: schedule pickups much earlier to anticipate traffic jams.
Traffic is the main cause of expected delays in pickups.
Changes in meeting points: Some pickup points will change, requiring clients to walk to accessible areas.
Changes in drop-off locations: Clients may need to walk from certain points to their destinations due to inaccessible areas.
Possible cancellations: Fleet management issues may arise due to flight delays, security measures, and potential protests, making it difficult to reassign vehicles to services.
To mitigate such challenges and issues, travel agencies and tour operators should inform their clients to have a QR code (“laissez-passer”) for entry controls, as drivers are unable to obtain these QR codes on their behalf. For clarity on whether a QR Code is required or to check if travellers are in a restricted area, the French government has provided a website with an interactive map offering detailed information for the duration of the guest visit: https://anticiperlesjeux.gouv.fr/carte-interactive-impacts-deplacements-ile-france
Manuel Núñez, CEO of Servantrip, states, “Demand clearly is through the roof, in part because there are many luxury visitors to the event who expect a high-end transfer, but there are only so many such drivers and cars available. More challenging, though, is that traffic jams will be hard to predict, not just because of higher levels of traffic but because so many streets will be closing and opening due to security restrictions. If you’re booking a transfer for your client, my strong advice would be to allow a lot of extra time and to warn the client to be patient.”