Boost for local ski resorts

In subsequently attracting larger numbers of tourists from France and across the world, the resorts around Albertville ensured optimal, lasting use of their facilities. Several of them have hosted major international competitions in the years since the Games, enabling them to remain economically viable.

Situated in the heart of the Trois Vallées ski zone, Meribel opened the courses used for the women’s Alpine skiing events to competitive and recreational skiers. Meanwhile, its Olympic Park, whose ice rink hosted the men’s ice hockey competition, is now home to a swimming pool, spa, gym and meeting rooms.

The venue for the freestyle skiing demonstration events at the Games, Tignes has gone on to become a mecca for the discipline. As well as staging the finals of the FIS Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe World Cup between 2015 and 2018, it also hosted the first four editions of the Winter X Games Europe, from 2010 to 2013.

Val d’Isère, where the men’s Alpine combined, downhill, giant slalom and super giant slalom events took place, is now one of the world’s best-known ski resorts. The venue for the 2009 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, it also hosts an event on the annual Alpine Ski World Cup tour. Having gradually developed its infrastructure over the years and, it now offers 25,000 hotel beds for visitors.

Meanwhile, Les Menuires, located 55 kilometres from Albertville, has made the most of its Games-inspired transformation from a budget-conscious destination to one offering more luxurious accommodation. Its slalom course, used for the Albertville 1992 Games, is just one of its many attractions.

Access to the region was greatly improved by the upgrading of existing roads, the construction of new ones and the building of a high-speed TGV rail link to Bourg St Maurice. These developments have been instrumental to the status the resorts now enjoy. Thousands of visitors step off the 150 trains that run to Bourg St Maurice every week in peak season, and those heading on to Les Arcs are transported to the resort’s ski area in just seven minutes by a funicular completed in 1989. And while Val d’Isère was once a six-hour drive from Albertville, it is now only a little over an hour away.

The global visibility provided by the Olympic Winter Games enabled Savoie Mont Blanc to market itself as a leading winter sports destination. And in laying on a host of activities and attractions, its resorts also created a vibrant skiing culture across the region, increasing its appeal. 

Ski resorts are very sensitive to climate change. With visitor numbers rising and warmer winters increasing the need for snow-making, the pressures on the local environment are also growing.

To reduce their environmental impact and ensure their longevity in the face of climate change and their coexistence with fragile mountain ecosystems, the resorts of Savoie Mont Blanc have implemented a series of environmental measures in recent years. These include stricter planning rules, lower-impact construction methods, a transition to low-carbon technologies and processes, and biodiversity protection.

Val d’Isère now boasts a vast, state-of-the-art underground snow-creation facility at the foot of the Bellevarde slope, greatly reducing power usage. And instead of using snow cannons, Les Saisies – the venue for the cross-country skiing and biathlon events – now uses the snowfarming technique to preserve its snow. At the end of the skiing season, the existing snow is piled up and covered with sawdust to prevent it from melting during summer. It is then re-spread on the slopes when they are prepared for the winter season. Awareness has also increased among visitors, who are reminded to leave no trace of their stay in the mountains.