ETOA Paris Working Group

Working groups provide opportunity for ETOA’s members and partners to cooperate on issues to do with the business environment for tourism in Europe. They are topic or destination focused. Activities can range from in-person meetings to ad hoc consultation and information sharing.

Their composition is not fixed and expressions of interest are welcome. We try to ensure access to insight from various business models and origin markets, and specialist expertise where applicable. For destination-focused groups, representatives from members’ local offices are especially valuable.

The working group is focusing on addressing coach access restrictions, alternative transport options, and group metro ticketing. There’s also concern about staffing shortages and ticketing for main attractions.

Topics generally discussed in the Paris working group:

• Coach Access and parking
• Group restrictions
• Attractions and ticketing
• Accommodation
• Overnight Tax

On 15 April 2026, ETOA held a Working Group in Paris, kindly hosted and supported on the ground by Visit Paris Region, which focused on key operational updates, destination performance trends, and evolving booking and access systems across major cultural sites in Paris.

Visit Paris Region highlighted a growth in international arrivals in 2025, hotel nights, and sustained demand at key museums and monuments, alongside positive forward bookings for 2026.

Discussions focused on the Louvre’s new B2B booking system and capacity management measures, forthcoming changes at Centre des monuments nationaux sites, new Eiffel Tower group access rules, and transport updates from Île-de-France Mobilités. The session also highlighted the importance of timely communication on operational changes and balancing access restrictions with the ability of alternative sites to absorb demand.

On 30 September 2025, ETOA and local members met online to review upcoming changes to group access and ticketing at the Louvre, underscoring the importance of continued dialogue between operators and site managers to find workable solutions. The meeting also addressed operational challenges at Notre Dame, including the growing issue of bot-driven reservations on B2C channels.