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Luxury retailers in European cities other than Paris are competing for business from wealthy tourists this summer, banking on an increase in visitors avoiding crowds and street closures in Paris during the Olympics.

“Paris will probably be slow,” Cartier CEO Cyril Vigneron said on Friday, while cities like London, Milan, and Barcelona are likely to see an increase in traffic during the event.

According to Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Nicolas Bos, the Summer Games, which run from July 26 to August 11, are probably “not the right time to organize a very important high jewellery celebration in Paris”. “But we will keep the stores open and be very happy to welcome sports amateurs,” he stated.

Richemont-owned (CFR.S) executives speak from experience as the company opens new tab jewellery brands. The 2012 Olympics in London drew some serious shoppers to their Paris boutiques, they said, but the overall impact was “neutral” on their businesses. Expecting a similar trend this year, they will concentrate on meeting their wealthy customers wherever they appear.

LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group and an Olympic sponsor, is also basing its expectations on previous experiences in London and Beijing.  

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“It’s usually quite neutral – although it makes our life a little bit more complicated when it comes to supplying products into our stores,” LVMH Chief Financial Officer Jean Jacques Guiony explained.

A report commissioned by Paris 2024 last week identified a possible “crowding out” effect in which tourists who had planned to visit Paris go elsewhere but stated that it is difficult to measure and predict.

The Federation de la Haute Couture et la Mode, France’s governing fashion body, has pushed the autumn 2024 haute couture fashion shows forward a week to June 24, immediately following the menswear spring 2025 ready-to-wear events. Organizers are also increasing shuttle services between shows, as final Olympic preparations are expected to clog city traffic.

Nonetheless, some fashion labels will only hold showroom presentations in Milan this season, citing “logistical difficulties because of the Olympics,” according to Carlo Capasa, chairman of Italy’s National Fashion Chamber.

London retailers, who have seen a drop in tourist traffic since the end of UK tax-free shopping, are hoping to capture business from Paris, with preparations well underway at iconic stores Harrods and Selfridges. “Paris has already been taken off the Chinese tour guide lists for this summer,” said Harrods’ managing director Michael Ward, who expects a significant boost. “We’ve got to curate the product, we’ve got to be absolutely on our game to handle it,” Ward stated.

The department store hopes to attract customers with celebrations for its new Tiffany & Co. high jewellery boutique, designer pop-ups, and exclusive products such as two new 175th-anniversary teddy bears designed by Italian jewellery label Bulgari and makeup label Charlotte Tilbury.

Selfridges intends to attract both locals and international visitors by hosting sporting events such as a running club and expanding its sportswear offerings.

“We are getting ready for a huge celebration of sport,” said CEO Andrew Keith.

Meanwhile, Barcelona is positioning itself as a more relaxed alternative to Paris’ frenzy of an Olympic atmosphere.

“Spain can offer a more relaxed leisure and consumer experience than that which, for weeks, the host city and country of the Games will have,” said the Spanish retail and food industry association AECOC.

Some tourists, including those from the United States, who attend the Games, which will be held primarily in venues throughout the French capital, intend to extend their visits to other European countries.

“U.S. travel data appears to imply a halo effect, as in addition to an increase in bookings in France for the Olympics, our data reflects an amplification of intra-European travel by Americans in Europe to certain destinations, such as Spain, Germany, and Italy,” travel agency eDreams told Reuters.