Paris, June 22, The Europe Today: The Eiffel Tower, one of the world’s top 10 most-visited monuments, now costs more to visit. As of June 17, adult ticket prices have increased to over €35, marking a 20 percent hike from the previous fare of €29.10. This increase aims to address the rising maintenance costs and financial challenges faced by the iconic landmark.
Standing 330 meters tall, the Eiffel Tower requires significant upkeep, and the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), the public company managing the tower, is leveraging the increased ticket prices to help rebalance its finances. The pandemic closures had a substantial impact on the tower’s revenue, exacerbated by a labor dispute that led to its temporary closure in February.
Tourists planning to visit the Eiffel Tower between February 19 and 24 were met with disappointment as a strike halted operations. The strike was called by the monument’s two staff unions, who demanded a “viable and realistic economic model” for the tower. A similar strike occurred on December 27, 2023, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Gustave Eiffel’s death, the engineer behind the tower’s construction.
Despite these challenges, the Eiffel Tower remains a major tourist attraction, drawing 6.3 million visitors in 2023, the highest number since 2015. However, SETE, 99 percent owned by the City of Paris, is still struggling to recover from the financial blow dealt by the pandemic. The tower’s closure in 2020 led to a dramatic drop in revenue, plummeting to €25 million from €99 million in 2019. Between 2020 and 2022, the revenue shortfall reached €113 million, according to estimates by Paris City Hall.
Simultaneously, maintenance costs have surged, with additional expenses surpassing €130 million. Some of the Eiffel Tower’s 360 employees blame SETE and Paris City Hall for delays that have increased these costs. Originally, Gustave Eiffel mandated that the tower be repainted every seven years to preserve its metal structure. However, the 20th repainting, which began in 2020, started 11 years after the previous one, leading to higher costs and more extensive work.
With the new ticket pricing, SETE hopes to stabilize its financial situation while continuing to maintain the tower’s grandeur for future visitors.
