The secretary of state in charge of tourism announced it yesterday during a congress in Chambéry, the ski lifts will reopen for the 2021/2022 season and this without a health pass, in any case if the situation stabilizes. Good news for all those involved in the mountains.
The announcement was made this Thursday, September 30 by the Secretary of State for Tourism Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne during the Savoie Expo in Chambéry: the ski lifts will indeed be open this winter. Another good news is that these ski lifts will be accessible without a health pass and therefore without a limit of people, if the epidemic situation continues to stabilize: “This winter we will be skiing!“, launched the Secretary of State for Tourism Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.”We have to go straight ahead and we’re going to have a good season. There is a desire for the great outdoors, it is an opportunity to win back certain clienteles far from skiing, especially in France“.
Something to delight mountain stakeholders: “We are very happy, we have never been so ready to welcome the public again, we have been preparing for this reopening for a year and a half, all the revisions have been made, all the equipment has been checked “, rejoices Jean-Luc Boch, the mayor of La Plagne Tarentaise, and the president of the National Association of Mayors of Mountain Stations.
#Tourism ???? | In Chambéry, at the ski areas congress, to reaffirm strong support for the mountains ????????! Together, we will do everything to make the winter season a success. You are ready and with @atout_france we will promote our destinations ????. #CetHiverJeSkie pic.twitter.com/EdTyqIxw9s
– Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (@JBLemoyne) September 30, 2021
Details of the health protocol
Nevertheless, a shadow darkens the picture. Indeed, if the epidemic situation were to deteriorate, health restrictions would be put in place, but which ones? They should be announced on October 13 when the health vigilance law is presented to the Council of Ministers: “We need to have the exact criteria for reopening because we are open until May. We cannot rule out the fact that the epidemic situation will change by then, we must know from when we will have to implement the health pass. Today we can’t prepare if we don’t have all the rules of the game, “laments Alexandre Maulin, the president of ski areas in France. “We need to have a clear and precise protocol as quickly as possible, so that we can organize ourselves and mark out the route of the skiers, in terms of employment, of staff to be hired, this is important. “, says Frédéric Porte, general manager of the Tignes resort.
Mountain professionals now expect simple and understandable rules for all: “These decisions have to be taken quickly, holidaymakers are already starting to book and they need information and certainty “, adds Jean-Luc Boch.
80% of regular customers
If the station presidents are delighted with the imminent reopening, they do not expect to have an exceptional season: “We’re going to have a good season, but there is a whole clientele that we will not have, I am thinking of the international clientele and the long-haul clientele. It’s not a big part but it can very quickly represent 10 to 20% of the winter customers, ” explains Jean-Luc Boch.
However, this foreign clientele should be replaced by the national clientele who generally go skiing every two or three years.
For the 2021 season, the ski lifts should be accessible without a sanitary pass – September 2021
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The opening dates
Most stations are expected to open between the last week of November and the first week of December. The opening of the Chamonix Montblanc resort is scheduled for November 20, as is the Val-Thorens resort. Les 2 Alpes should open on November 27 like the resort of Tignes and Val d’Isère, others like Alpe d’Huez, Serre-Chevalier, Les Orres or la Rosière should open on December 11.
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