French Ski Resorts Invest for the Future

In 2025, French ski resorts committed €555m (£486)in investments, according to the annual survey conducted by Montagne Leaders magazine in partnership with Atout France and Domaines Skiables de France.

This amount is identical to the previous year and is 50% above the ten-year average.

It keeps investment at a record level since the barometer was created.

In terms of turnover, the investment represents 32% of pre-tax turnover, which is 9 points above the ten-year average, confirming a particularly high level of financial commitment.

The breakdown of investments for 2025 by mountain range, excluding grooming, is

• €230.26m (£201.8m) in Savoie
• €84m (£73.5m) in Haute-Savoie
• €80.16m (£70.2m) in Isère
• €71.84m (£63m)in the Southern Alps
• €34.9m (£30.5m) in the Pyrenees,
• €0.88m (£0.77m)in the Vosges
• €1.17 m (£1.02m)in the Jura
• €5.61m (£4.9m)in the Massif Central

Sustained effort in a context of increased constraints

Long-term analysis shows that ski areas must devote an increasingly large share of their resources to investment.

Each euro of turnover now requires more investment than in the early 2010s, due to more complex projects, more demanding regulations and rising equipment costs.

The price of a new detachable chairlift rose faster between 2019 and 2025 than the price of ski passes.

In this context, the sector’s dynamism is no longer measured solely by the amounts invested, but by the ability of operators to sustain this effort over time, while preserving the economic balance of their models.

Dependence on weather conditions, the maturity of the customer base and rising operating costs reinforce this vigilance.

The high-altitude resorts have seen the most investment as that is where consolidation and growth is seen to be the strongest.

Val Thorens, France. Image © PlanetSKI

 More selective and structured investment strategies

Faced with these constraints, investment strategies are becoming more selective.

New ski lifts remain the largest item of expenditure, accounting for half of the total investment, with €281m (£246m) million invested in 2025, but projects are now more targeted.

Of the 48 installations identified, half are conveyor belts, reflecting a priority given to learning and diversifying the customer base.

The 24 structural lifts (gondola lifts, chairlifts and ski lifts) represent an average investment of €11m (£9.6m) per lift.

A high amount that reflects the increase in the number of new gondola lifts (vs. chairlifts) and the frequent presence of stations with ambitious building projects.

At the same time, reception buildings are emerging as the most dynamic segment of investment.

€62m (£54m) is being spent on large-scale multi-service buildings:

• Mountain restaurants
• Reception areas
• Toilets
• Lockers

These are designed as real economic assets to enhance the customer experience and diversify revenue.

This item shows an increase of +80% compared to the five-year average and +125% compared to the ten-year average.

This marks a structural reorientation of priorities, which has been particularly clear over the last two years.

These facilities contribute to structuring the customer journey, extending the time spent on site, increasing ancillary revenue and enhancing the attractiveness of the resorts.

Crucially both in summer and winter.

St Gervais, France. Image © PlanetSKI

“The level of investment observed in 2025 remains high, but it also reflects the intensification of economic, regulatory and climatic constraints,” said Deputy Mountain Representative within the ATOUT FRANCE Mountain Delegation, Damien Zisswiller.

“Every euro of turnover must be optimised in relation to investment.

“True performance now lies in the ability of operators to sustain this effort over time, reconciling modernisation, diversification and financial balance.”

Tignes, France, Image c/o David Morgan.

 Investment for the benefit of local communities and solidarity

“Investment is more than ever a lever for the evolution of resorts and the development of regions,” said the President of Domaines Skiables de France, Anne Marty.

“Operators maintain a remarkable level of commitment to transforming the offer available to customers, both in summer and winter, while optimising their operating cost structure and the flow of visitors to the mountains.”

While the sector can be proud of the high-quality facilities built in recent years, Domaines Skiables de France nevertheless warns of the situation facing sites that cannot, or can no longer, access investment.

The professional union has launched a major solidarity initiative to support these regions and has called on suppliers to be vigilant and offer their support in order to prevent certain resorts from falling behind and to preserve the balance of the mountain ranges.

All this activity generates benefits that extend far beyond mountain communities alone.

Every winter, more than 120,000 jobs in the French mountains depend on the opening of ski areas, in addition to tens of thousands of indirect jobs in the mountain supplier ecosystem.

Over the last ten years (2016-2025), French ski areas have invested €3.96b (£3.46b) in the maintenance and development of ski areas, helping to place France second in the world in terms of skier days, with 54.7 million days in 2024/2025.

French ski resorts represent an estimated market of €12b (£10.5b) spending each winter by 10 million tourists  – €2b (£1.75b) in the summer.

Les Menuires, France. Image © PlanetSKI

A dynamic industry looking to the future

The artificial snow market has contracted significantly since the Covid crisis, even though France lags behind some of its Alpine neighbours in terms of equipment.

Projects have to be carefully weighed up in a very constrained environment.

However, recent and upcoming renewals of major public service delegations (DSPs) should result in a significant level of investment over the next few years.

The choices made in terms of priorities (transport, buildings, diversification, climate adaptation) will be decisive for the economic and tourist resilience of mountain areas.

Leisure facilities should continue to benefit from a dynamic trend (+40% in 2025 compared to the average of the last four years), reflecting the desire to expand the range of non-skiing activities on offer.

Les Sybelles, France. Image © PlanetSKI.

Beyond these facilities, which are highly identifiable as they are entirely dedicated to diversification (zip lines, four-season toboggans, etc.), the multi-purpose design of all investments is evident across all areas.

This is reflected in every segment: ski lifts, piste works, high-altitude reservoirs, reception buildings and more.

The full survey can be found in issue 312 of the January/February 2026 edition of Montagne Leaders magazine,  see more here.

France. Image © PlanetSKI.

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