Where to Ski And Snowboard - Summer in the Alps is booming

Summer in the Alps is booming

4th May 2016, by Abi Butcher

The French ski resort of Chamonix is popular with summer visitors

Summer in the French Alps is booming — with record numbers of visitors heading to the mountains during the warmer months.

According to MGM French Properties, more than 12 million people visited the French Alps in summer 2015, which it attributes to a growing appetite for adventure and sporting holidays and the fact that many ski resorts offer free activities to visitors.

This year, the number of visitors heading to the mountains is likely to grow — with the latest research from travelsupermarket.com revealing that the number of people planning to take a summer beach break is down 10 per cent compared to last year.

Interestingly, MGM Properties, which sells ski chalets throughout the French Alps, says its properties are occupied 80% of the time during the summer, compared to 70% of the winter, with key areas for summer visitors including Chatel, Portes du Soleil, Chamonix, Champagny and Samoens.

Lots of British visitors are attracted to the Alps during the summer to go cycling in the mountains.

Richard Deans of MGM French Properties commented: “Often people think of the Alps as a winter ski destination, but there is a lot of activity in the region in the summer months. In fact our development in Samoëns saw more visitors between June and August of 2015 than during the ski season. The Alps as a whole is an incredibly popular summer destination, with sales figures growing year-on-year in the warmer months. In fact a number of our resorts are fully booked for the entirety of the warm season, with visitors looking to take in the fresh air of the Alps during their summer break.”