At lunchtime, at the top of a ski slope in Val-d'Isère, in southeastern France, the high-altitude restaurant La Cucucina was packed to the rafters. Forget the traditional chalet with tartiflette and mulled wine; here, everything is extravagant. In a room decorated like a Renaissance artist's workshop, a dancer performs acrobatic figures from a suspended hoop, accompanied by a jazz singer in evening dress. The waiters, dressed as painters, serve Italian dishes to skiers – English, Dutch and Brazilians alike – from a menu designed by former Top Chef contestant Denny Imbroisi. They include truffle rigatoni (€45), Sicilian pizza (€34) and chicken alla diavola (€39).
La Cucucina, which belongs to the La Folie Douce group, opened at the end of 2021 and embodies a trend seen in all Alps ski resorts: the move upmarket. There are more high-quality restaurants and shops, residences are more luxurious than their predecessors, a greater variety of leisure activities is being offered and chairlifts are getting faster and faster. This is accompanied by prices that are discouraging some regulars from financing alpine vacations, particularly in an inflationary context. At Sunweb, one of France's leading ski tour operators, prices for all-inclusive holidays have risen by 12% in two years. For instance, the cheapest packages (including accommodation, skis and passes) for a week at La Plagne during the school vacations start at €2,600 for a family of four.
"As a consequence, the French clientele able to afford to go skiing is narrowing, while resorts are actively seeking a huge number of customers from abroad," explained Alain Boulogne, vice president of the environmental organization CIPRA. The skiing "base" is nevertheless slim: 11% of French people claim to ski every year, according to the latest survey by the French Sports Ministry (2020), with an overrepresentation of executives and middle-management professionals.
Real estate pressure
This upmarket trend is directly linked to real estate pressure, which has increased considerably in recent years in the most snow-covered ski resorts. Developers buy increasingly expensive land and construct high-end hotels or apartments, generating higher profit margins. All these new developments – revenue sources for the resorts – have contributed to sustaining the viability of the system and financing the upmarket enhancement of all services.
"In Tignes, we've gone from two five-star hotels to around 15 in the space of 15 years," said Sébastien Mérignargues, who, after running the French Alps resort's tourist office, is now based in Avoriaz. At the same time, certain more affordable types of accommodation are on the decline. "This is creating a real problem of generational renewal. To be an adult skier, you need to have been introduced to skiing either by your parents or at school," he continued.
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