Going skiing? Go high!
As resort profit and loss figures from last winter are being released, the Compagnie des Alpes has recently reported a modest rise in profits despite the unseasonably warm winter and a reported 10% drop in the number of skiers and boarders visiting the Alps this winter.
The company, which operates a number of the key alpine resorts including La Plagne, Courchevel, Meribel, Chamonix and Verbier, has seen a 2.1% rise in half year sales. Its ski resorts are mostly located at 1500m and above and "this confirms Compagnie des Alpes's strategic choice of exploiting only ski resorts at high altitudes," it said.
With no plan to change what appears to be a winning strategy; the company has also recently acquired a stake in Val d'Isere, La Rosière and Avoriaz, and it also owns 2 theme parks in France which attract year round trade.
Its decision to concentrate on high altitude resorts supports a view aired by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), who warned last December that the rise in the snow line could make resorts under 1500m unviable in the future. It also warned banks against lending money to low level resorts and advised those affected to diversify into other tourist activities.
However, despite a poor winter across some parts of the Alps this year, it's a little reported fact that many high resorts actually received more snow at altitude this winter than last. Long term weather forecasts predict that precipitation levels over the Alps will increase over the next decade but that it will also experience a rise in temperature. Whilst this is likely to result in rain at low levels, those resorts with high altitude skiing such as here, should benefit from more snow on their upper slopes.
Source: Ski Club
