An interesting article from Le Dauphine newspaper (a regional paper for South-East France) on how much skiing introduces to the economy.
http://www.ledauphine.com/savoie/2012/10/26/skier-en-france-combien-ca-coute-combien-ca-rapporte
Ski lifts, through the selling of lift passes, generated 1.2 billion (French: milliard) Euros last year.? It is estimated that each euro spent on a lift pass generates 6 Euros spent on other items.? So one arrives at a figure of 8.4 billion euros spent for all the French ski resorts.? These resorts generate 120,000 jobs.
Savoie benefits from 65% of the income generated.
It’s clear that skiiing generates a huge income for the Savoie department.? How much of this income remains in the economy is a different question with large companies owning the ski lifts, such as the Compagnie des Alpes.? Does most of the money end up in the hands of shareholders rather than in the local economy?
With global warming, if you don’t believe it look at the dramatically shrinking glaciers, having so many eggs in the “skiing” basket may be a recipe for future economic disaster.
I find it surprising that people wish to take a summer holiday in a purpose built ski resort as many resemble a building site in summer.? What appears to “fit in” during the winter i.e. the ski lifts and ski runs suddenly take on a rather incongrous appearance in summer.? Ski runs are often eroded and tracks criss cross the hillside.
if you’re looking for a summer holiday in the Alps look to the more authentic villages where the landscape hasn’t been subject to the demands of the voracious and unsustainable ski industry.
