British tourists have been warned to expect prices for Eiffel Tower tickets to cost 20 percent more from the 17th June. This has been linked to a variety of reasons.
The increase, although yet to be approved by the Paris City Council, is being justified by the fact that accounts have suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic and additional costs from maintenance work.
Standing at over 300 metres high, the Eiffel Tower has been the landmark of France since 1889, two years after its foundations were laid. Since its foundation, the tower has been repainted every seven years, with a total of 60 tonnes of paint applied in an operation which usually takes about 16 months at an average total cost of £2.5 million.
According to the amendment to the public service delegation agreement, The prices to access the top floor will increase from:
£25.04 to £30.24 for adults
£12.52 to £15.07 for ages 12-24
£6.30 to £.7.58 for ages four-11, disabled people and carers
While staircase access to the second floor will increase from:
£10.05 to £12.09 for adults
£5.01 to £6.05 for young people
£2.55 to £3.06 for children
Will remain free for children under four and those on benefits.
The increases were announced when employees unhappy with the management of the site went on strike in February, leading to a six-day closure of the Eiffel Tower.
The additional renovation costs were primarily justified by the impact of Covid-19. “Over the period 2020 to 2022, Sete (the monument’s operating company) has suffered an operating loss of around €113 million [£96.2 million],” said the Town Hall. Added to this loss are the extra costs of renovation work, which came as a result of the discovery of traces of lead during the current painting campaign. In total, the estimated costs are at nearly £116 million, according to the Town Hall estimates.
The purpose of the amendment is to adapt the public service delegation (DSP) contract, which began in 2017, to these new parameters and to the works planned from 2025, which “will generate a reduction in the areas available for use”.
After a fall in the number of visitors to 1.5 million in 2020 due to Covid-19, the symbol of Paris and France returned in 2023 to a level of attendance comparable to 2019, with close to 6 million visitors.
In 130 years, the tower has already been repainted 19 times. The current campaign, first undertaken in 2019, was intended to restore the Eiffel Tower to its 20th-century splendour ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, this target will not be met due to numerous setbacks, including a nine-month break due to the pandemic and then the discovery of the high lead level detected by the removal of the previous 19 layers of paint. The work has now been suspended and will resume at the end of the Games.
“The repainting campaign is an important event in the life of the monument and takes on a truly mythical nature, as with everything linked to the Eiffel Tower. It represents the lasting quality of a work of art known all over the world, the colour of the monument that is symbolic of the Parisian cityscape…” said the official website.