The General Manager of La Plagne Tourist Office spoke to us about the winter of 2023-2024.
How do you explain the ever-growing appeal of La Plagne and its villages?
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La Plagne continues to attract tourists. This trend has been confirmed this season, with positive visitor numbers right from the opening of the resort on 16 December. The high altitude, the vastness of the ski area and the versatility of our resort, with eleven villages each offering a different atmosphere, are just some of the many reasons for this phenomenon. At La Plagne, there's something for everyone.
So what is the magic recipe for a successful station today?
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(He smiles) I can give you the one for La Plagne. Nearly 70% of our ski area is at an altitude of over 2000m. So we have guaranteed snow for all our villages, because all of them are linked to the Paradiski area.
We also have a growing range of off-ski activities. Our bobsleigh run is unique in France. We also offer zip-lining, dog-sleigh rides and spa treatments. All in a magnificent setting, with sublime landscapes, surrounded by fir trees.
How would you sum up the recent winter holidays?
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Visitor numbers were up 5 points on last year. These are positive figures, especially as not all tourists came at the same time. Visitor numbers were evenly spread over all the weeks of the winter holidays.
What type of customer comes to La Plagne?
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Overall, the majority of tourists were French, accounting for 65%. Many of these tourists come from the Île-de-France and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions.
The Glacier gondola? Initial feedback from customers has been excellent. I highly recommend this experience.
Rémy Counil
But we can also count on a European clientele that has a habit of coming to La Plagne. I'm thinking of the English, Belgians and Dutch.
The 2030 Winter Olympics are due to be held in France and in our Alpine resorts. We can imagine that this is a huge opportunity for La Plagne and its bobsleigh run...
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This is excellent news for the resort. And a nice nod to the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games. Since then, our bobsleigh run has never stopped running. Top sportsmen and women go there, but the track is also aimed at tourists, who can try their hand at this discipline. The track will be modernised for the Olympic Games and will continue to offer a unique experience to our visitors.
This season, you inaugurated the long-awaited Glacier gondola lift. How do you rate its debut?
The lift was fully opened during the February holidays. At the start of the season, we had to make some last-minute adjustments.
Today, this new equipment allows you to discover a unique area, at an altitude of 3,000 metres, with breathtaking panoramic views. Initial feedback from customers has been excellent. I highly recommend this experience.
We know how important seasonal workers are in our resorts. What role do they play in La Plagne and how do you go about attracting them?
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La Plagne does an immense amount of work for its seasonal workers. We realised two years ago that we were having great difficulty recruiting. We had to innovate to rectify this problem, and we did so with the Tourist Office, offering special promotions to attract seasonal workers.
April is perhaps now the best time to ski. There are fewer people on the slopes, the conditions are perfect and the snow is good.
Rémy Counil
All based on the feelings and needs of each of our retailers and professionals in the sector. So we've launched a dedicated platform where anyone can find job descriptions for the various positions on offer, whether skimmer, waiter, barman... Looking back, we realise, thanks in particular to the friendliness of our various villages, that life in the mountains, with its atmosphere and way of life, still appeals enormously.
What are the last major deadlines before the winter season draws to a close and the summer season gets underway?
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The ski area will close on 28 April, whatever happens and even if there is still snow. This will ensure optimum snow quality until we close. And April is perhaps now the best time to ski.
There are fewer people on the slopes, the conditions are perfect and the snow is good. And there's also numerous promotional offers on accommodation and ski passes. We also have three major events coming up at the end of the season. " Born To Be Show "A must-see ski, sound and light show, "TrifaceThis is a huge challenge for ski tourers and the " Instructors' Challengewhich is making its return to La Plagne twenty years later.