Bargains galore for travellers to France during Euro 2016 - as travel boss slams football tournament

Millions of tourists will stay away from France during the event, which has been criticised by the chief executive of the European Tour Operators’ Association as it ‘displaces normal business, and replaces it with sports fans’

Eurostar predicts Friday 10 June will be one of the busiest 10 days in its history on the London-Paris run (AFP/Getty)

Amid all the fears about the security risks at Euro 2016, a more tangible problem has emerged for the host nation, France: millions of tourists staying away during the tournament. Anyone prepared to holiday in France between 10 June and 10 July can find plenty of cheap and rewarding late breaks.

The French authorities expect 2.5 million football fans from abroad to visit during the 31 days of the tournament. Yet during a “normal” summer, France would expect to welcome at least that many foreign visitors each week.

Euro 2016 is one reason tourists and business travellers are staying away; the perception is that flights, trains and roads will be filled with football fans, and that travel tickets will be either very expensive or simply unobtainable. Certainly, key dates are heavily in demand; Eurostar predicts Friday 10 June will be one of the busiest 10 days in its history on the London-Paris run.

The increasingly serious warnings about the risk of terrorism during the tournament will also deter some travellers who might otherwise make a visit to France in the coming month. The Foreign Office says: “During Euro 2016, stadiums, fan zones, venues broadcasting the tournament and transport hubs and links represent potential targets for terrorist attacks.”

A state of emergency will prevail in France at least until 26 July, to cover the Tour de France as well as Euro 2016.

Adding to the tension across the nation is uncertainty over transport arrangements - not least with a planned strike by Air France pilots from Saturday 11 to Tuesday 14 June. The airline said it “continues to favour social dialogue to find compromise solutions,” and has not yet worked out the effect of a strike on its schedules.

Air-traffic controllers are set to strike again on 14 June, which is likely to affect flights on BA, easyJet and Ryanair.

On the rails, mass cancellations have taken place because of a continuing strike by train staff working for SNCF. High-speed trains comprise the main form of transport for many of the fans following their teams in a tournament where the venues extend from Lille to Toulouse and Bordeaux to Nice.

As a result of all the uncertainty, a leading travel industry figure has predicted a host of last-minute deals during Euro 2016.

Tom Jenkins, chief executive of the European Tour Operators’ Association, told The Independent: “There is always a disparity between what destinations hope for and what is delivered, particularly as demand for Paris will be sporadic.” He warned that Euro 2016 would prove “hugely disruptive, enormously expensive and with benefits only apparent to those directly involved, such as ticket sellers, bars and match souvenir salesmen.”

Paris is preparing to welcome millions of football fans this summer (Getty)

Mr Jenkins said: “In general, the decision to hold events such as these has no tourism justification, neither in the short, medium nor long term. It is a party: it displaces normal business, and replaces it with sports fans. They are there largely because of the sport, not the destination.”

So long as travellers avoid match venues - which is easy to do, given the size of the country - extremely low fares are available. Ryanair is selling seats between Stansted and the west-coast resort of La Rochelle for as little as £32 return during the tournament.

Even seats to the capital are widely available at fares below normal levels. Transavia is selling tickets between Luton and Paris on many dates for just £60 return. Between Manchester and Beauvais - which Ryanair describes as “Paris” - seats towards the end of June are available for £51 return.

From Scotland, whose team is not participating in the Euros this time, fares from Edinburgh to Paris are available at under £100 return on Vueling.