French hotels, bars and museums boosted by Olympics, says minister

PARIS: The Paris Olympics, which draws to a close on Sunday (Aug 11), has given a much-needed boost to the French economy thanks to business from greater numbers of visitors generated for hotels, bars, restaurants and museums, France's tourism minister said.

The euro zone's second-largest economy has been banking on the Games to bolster its tepid economic growth, with its statistics office predicting a 0.3 percentage point boost from ticket and TV rights sales and from more tourism.

Tourism Minister Olivia Gregoire told French paper La Tribune Dimanche in an interview published on Sunday that the number of people staying at hotels in French cities hosting Olympic events had risen 16 per cent year-on-year.

She said that the number of people visiting Paris museums and spending money in the capital's restaurants and bars had also gone up 25 per cent on average.

US bank card and financial transactions firm Visa - one of the Olympics' corporate sponsors - also said earlier this month that its card transactions data showed small businesses in Paris benefiting from increased sales.

On Friday, the Bank of France also said that the nation's economy was on course to grow at least 0.35 per cent in the third quarter helped by a temporary boost from activity related to the Olympic Games.