“Thank you all for these 4 months of skiing! See you soon ❤️❤️❤️. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. ” L'Alpe d'Huez posted this message last Tuesday March 17 on Facebook. An end clap accompanied by a short video of the Isère resort at sunset. “Thank you all for helping to make this winter season fantastic. We will miss your smiles and your good humor! "Wrote Val-d'Isère to its followers, 12,784 French-speaking subscribers to its newsletter, which will also receive 4,629 foreign addicts, once it has been translated into English.
This message should not have been posted until May 3, the date on which the runways were to close. Suddenly, we put the triple bites to mount the video (a freerider in powder snow on a background of retro music) accompanies the newsletter. Too bad this superb little film is not accessible to all Internet users. But on this one, the dates of the next winter season are already displayed - from November 28, 2020 to May 2, 2021 - as well as the summer ski period, from June 6 to July 11, on the Pissaillas glacier. .
"Our first emergency is the social aspect"
Two examples among others. Since Sunday, all ski lifts have been stopped. And before thinking about the next turns or summer hikes on the trails, the resorts were quick to hurry. "Our first emergency is the social aspect," explains Alexandre Maulin, the president of Domaines skiables de France, a union of white gold operators from 300 stations. The French mountains actually employ some 120,000 seasonal workers in winter, all sectors combined. And these seasonal workers represent 80% of the 17,000 people who work on the slopes. “We are therefore in discussions so that they are entitled to partial unemployment. And I want to thank the departments with which we hold, of course, permanent meetings. Humanly, it's great to feel supported. "
Domaines skiables de France is also considering setting up a job exchange on the Internet. "Our staff need to work while in some essential businesses, part of the employees are confined to their homes to babysit," continues Alexandre Maulin. The idea is to create an online platform using an already existing tool to go faster ”. In the mountains, as everywhere else, it is time for solidarity. “Economically, we are not the most affected. By mid-March, we had already achieved 80% of winter turnover, ”concludes Alexandre Maulin.
Automatic reimbursement of ski passes
Ski on the sound of Grands-Montets with Chardonnet in the background. Annie Barbaccia / Le Figaro
On the client side, what about ski passes purchased but not used? Ski areas of France gave no instructions. After a quick overview, reimbursement (pro rata for partially consumed packages) prevails. Certain resort or domain sites, such as Paradiski (Les Arcs and La Plagne), Alpe d'Huez Assistance (on Facebook) or Npy (eight stations in the Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques) already explain walking to to follow. In Val-d'Isère, all skiers have already returned to their costs. As for other services, snowboard lessons, equipment rental, accommodation, you must contact the service providers concerned. Remember, however, that as part of an all-inclusive stay, the organization that sold it must reimburse the entire amount. Or offer a credit for next season…
Even if the epidemic is over, countries are likely to remain huddled
Claudie Blanc, general manager of Savoie-Mont-Blanc TourismeStill, in high places, as in all tourist regions, we cross our fingers for the summer season. "We don't necessarily expect to receive foreigners," says Claudie Blanc, the general manager of Savoie-Mont-Blanc Tourisme. Even if the epidemic is over, countries are likely to remain huddled in on themselves. But we can now encourage the French to come. Not through promotional campaigns - those that were planned remain in the drawers until further notice - but by offering services, attractive content on our website and social networks. When you have a million fans on Facebook, you don't drop them overnight. We will therefore offer new beautiful images, games, quizzes and cooking recipes, in addition to the other media. ”
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"We continue to communicate and inform in benevolent mode," confirms Jean-Marc Silva, the general manager of France Montagnes (organization promoting 100 stations). Our internet users confined to their homes need oxygen and it is important to provide them with images of nature. We will show them the snowy and deserted spring, then the summer. But they can already get a breath of fresh air by surfing the webcams of the stations. ” For its part, La Pierre-Saint Martin (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) offers wallpapers on Instagram for mobile phones and computers.
Beautiful images, there were already, of course, on mountain websites. As well as cooking recipes which were a hit, on France Montagnes, Savoie-Mont-Blanc Tourisme, Isère Tourisme in particular. Since the beginning of the week, they have exploded. Savoyard podium: Pierre Gay number 1 fondue, followed by white wine diots (you still have to find these famous sausages in Brest or Lille) and farcement. So there, good luck. As Claudie Blanc, Savoyarde pure juice says, "it's easier to make pancakes" ...
