In 2023, the year in which France celebrated the 100th anniversary of Gustave Eiffel’s passing, the Eiffel Tower welcomed 6.3 million visitors. Both national and international tourists seem to be fond of the monument and, with the Olympics coming to Paris in 2024, a promising new touristic year has started for the Eiffel Tower.
Compared to 2022, the visitor numbers for the Eiffel Tower went up by 8% in 2023 and even compared to pre-Covid levels in 2019 – when the tower received 6.2 million visitors – numbers are on the rise. The number might reflect the success of a number of new services on offer at the landmark. Guided tours were introduced, giving tourists an even better experience while visiting the monument, and celebrity chefs assured only the best food was served at in-house restaurants Madame Brasserie and The Jules Verne. Moreover, the exhibition “Eiffel, toujours plus haut” (Eiffel, ever higher) celebrated Gustave Eiffel and, on December 27th, the date he passed away, a light show was displayed on the tower and broadcasted on national television.
“Partnerships were also set up with institutions such as La Poste (the national post office) and the Monnaie de Paris (the government-owned institution responsible for producing France’s coins) in order to honour Gustave Eiffel, respectively by issuing a special stamp and a collection of coins in his image”, the the company in charge of the Eiffel Tower, Sete, explained on its website.
According to Sete, 18.9% of the vistors in 2023 were French. Northern American tourists follow closely with 18%. European tourists from outside of France represented 44% of the visitor numbers, with the Germans coming in first, followed by the English and the Spanish.
Sete also acknowledges a Rugby World Cup influence, with visitor numbers from tourists coming from Australia and New Zealand being on the rise. The hopes are therefore high that the 2024 Olympics, will have an influence on the numbers as well. As far as the Eiffel Tower goes, 2024 will also see the introduction of an official webshop.
The top floor of the Eiffel Tower is temporarily closed due to maintenance work from January 8th to February 9th 2024.
