(Yicai) Aug. 5 -- The number of Chinese mainland tourists booking hotels in Paris has almost tripled during the Summer Olympic Games held in the French capital city, according to industry data.

Hotel booking in Paris for the period between July 26 and Aug. 11 made by Chinese mainlanders before Aug. 2 soared 194 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Trip.Com.

Bookings for cruises along the Seine River jumped 209 percent during the Olympics, while tickets for the Tour Eiffel, Palace of Versailles, Louvre, and Musée d'Orsay surged 163 percent, 108 percent, 342 percent, and 281 percent, respectively.

Other French cities also saw increases to some extent, Trip.Com data also showed. Chinese tourists' trips to Vanves, a city near the Olympic table tennis tournament venue, skyrocketed more than 20 times in the period, ranking fifth by popularity among French cities after Paris, Nice, Lyone, and Marseille.

The number of Chinese travelers visiting Paris is particularly high this year because the Olympics further boosted tourism during the traditional summer holiday season, industry insiders told Yicai.

Many French tourists are also visiting China during their summer vacations between mid-July and the end of August. The number of trip bookings from Paris to the Chinese mainland rose 72 percent during the Olympics, with Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Xiamen among the most popular destinations.

The effect of the Olympics is also evident for other European countries. During the Olympics, the number of hotel bookings in Europe made by Chinese mainland tourists increased 143 percent from a year earlier, according to Trip.Com. The number of bookings for chartered car tours in Europe rose 68 percent in the period.

Editor: Futura Costaglione