While winter has already begun and the ski season was partially launched, it is time to take a look at the last summer.
Despite the fact that global warming started affecting the Mont-Blanc massif, the Chamonix valley saw an increase in the number of tourists.
"With global warming, the mountain becomes a refuge", explains the Tourist Office.
According to Nicolas Durochat, the director of the Chamonix Tourist Office, the summer season of 2019, which ran from May to October, was "rather very positive".
The Mont-Blanc massif seemed to be a refuge for visitors this summer when heat waves struck Europe.
Over 100,000 additional overnight stays compared to 2018
While July and August were preferred by most, there is a significant increase in the months of September and October in 2019. "Once again, we are seeing a stretch in the number of pleasant days at the end of the season", comments Nicolas Durochat.
"But we need to be proactive", warns Stéphane Boizard, the president of the Tourist Office.
In a changing context, the valley must constantly evolve and offer customers what they want. In this regard, special attention will be given to the evolution of the mountain bike and to its electric variant.
And who are the tourists?
According to Le Dauphine, 60% of the people who attended Chamonix this summer were French. As for the remaining 40%, "the proximity marketing followed an ascending curve", explains Nicolas Durochat.
Most of the tourists coming out of France are English, Swiss, Spanish, Italian and German. "A strategy to be consistent with the climate policy", continues Nicolas Durochat.
"The winter is more fragile", declares Nicolas Durochat
If the summer season is strongly supported by many big events which take place in the Chamonix Valley (the Mont-Blanc Marathon, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, etc.), this is not the case for the winter season.
However, the 2019-2020 season looks good. "It's just perfect in terms of snowfall", confirms the president.
And the numbers confirm it. There are already more people for Christmas than they were in 2018, and 2018 had already been a record.
January and March are rather empty at the moment.
Nevertheless, the 2019-2020 ski season in Chamonix will have its highlights.
One of them will be the Kandahar in February, then a multitude of small animations on the slope.
The president and the director of the Chamonix Tourist Office conclude by saying that Chamonix tourists are different than those of other resorts. They do not come to Chamonix just for the skiing, but "they [the tourists] are, above all, in love with the mountains and come three to four times a year to consume the mountains".
