Christophe Lavaut, Director of Val d'Isère Tourism, spoke to us about the summer season and the upcoming winter season.
How would you sum up the summer of 2024?
This summer in Val d'Isère has been out of the ordinary, the opposite of what we're used to. The resort had a very unusual tourist season, with a huge drop in visitor numbers until the end of July. Fortunately, August more than made up for this and was exceptional.
The last three weeks have particularly outperformed, to the extent that Val d'Isère has recorded an increase of 2 % in the number of overnight stays compared to last year, which was already a record year. Since the Covid period, we've seen unprecedented visitor numbers. We used to have around 115,000 overnight stays in the summer. This year we're up to 195,000, almost double. But that's still a long way from the 1.6 million overnight stays in winter.
How do you see the summer season developing in Val d'Isère?
The summer season saw a significant increase in visitor numbers and sporting activities. We saw an overall increase of 13 % for outdoor and indoor activities, with a similar increase for the "Val Pass". Although total consumption of activities rose by only 5 %, some events, such as the trail race at the beginning of July, maintained stable or even slightly higher attendance than last year, despite the generally more difficult context. According to shopkeepers, visitors spent more in August than in July.
"The bike park and electric bike hire are also experiencing a strong increase.
The trends observed confirm the growing popularity of the "unlimited pass", which has been in place for two years. Traditional events, such as the village fête and the "Fête du Vieux Val", continue to attract visitors, subject to favourable weather conditions. Among the new attractions, the "gel blaster" (an ecological version of paintball) has been a great success, as has the e-bike. We've also set up a village dedicated to cycling, with an educational trail to introduce visitors to the sport before they tackle the mountain. The bike park and e-bike hire are also enjoying strong growth.
What events are you looking forward to this winter?
This winter, we're banking on some major events, in particular the "Critérium de la Première Neige" on 14 December, the first stage of the Ski World Cup, a key event to launch the season, which officially kicks off on 30 November. The International Ski Federation has already come to prepare for this event, and everything is going well.
On the cultural front, we organise events such as "ClassicaVal" in January and the "Festival International du Film Nature et Découverte" in April, which celebrates mountains and adventure, with international directors. Presented by Sylvain Tesson, this festival is a must. At the end of the season, we will be offering three weeks of entertainment, concerts and 'Ski and Chill', with flagship events such as the 'Coupe HEC', attracting students for competitions on snow and concerts organised by local partners such as 'La Folie Douce'.
And what about the ski area?
The big news is the new Vallon de l'Iseran cable carThe new lift, which has been in service for forty years, will be operational on 20 December. This ambitious project, which will take just a few months to complete, will allow skier traffic to flow more smoothly and improve access to the glacier, offering greater comfort and speed.
What are the station's medium-term objectives?
Our priority is to improve the reliability of our infrastructure, in particular by replacing old installations such as the one at Vallon de l'Iseran, to avoid wind-related closures. Although Val d'Isère already has an excellent winter occupancy rate, developing the summer season is a priority. Thanks to our altitude, we have real potential to extend the season and attract more visitors in summer, in order to reduce our dependence on winter.