Solidarity in the mountains: Ski Areas of France launches sponsorship of small ski areas

Building on the spirit of mutual support and solidarity that already guides its professional policy and its CSR division created in 2024, Domaines Skiables de France is launching a new mentoring program between participating resorts to share skills, technical resources, and strategic vision in the face of climate and economic challenges. Among the forty or so ongoing partnerships, Chamrousse is paired with Saint-Hugues-Les Égaux, and Font-Romeu with Les Estables have been The first partnerships were officially announced at the Mountain Planet trade show on April 21st at the DSF stand, in the presence of the operators involved. These partnerships illustrate the industry's commitment to organizing highly operational solidarity between resorts within the same mountain range or between complementary ranges, in service of the balanced development of mountain regions.

A very concrete mutual aid system

The sponsorship program is structured around three main axes:

• Strategic and management support: sharing of experiences on DSPs, economic models, human resources management, four-season diversification, energy transition and climate adaptation (tools such as Climsnow, carbon trajectory 2037, etc.).

• Technical and operational support: exchange of best practices in terms of slope safety, operation of ski lifts, grooming, management of artificial snow, maintenance of work equipment and preventive maintenance.

• CSR and territorial cooperation: support on environmental eco-commitments (carbon footprint, water management, biodiversity, dismantling of obsolete facilities) and on solidarity initiatives already carried out by the profession (Nivalliance, second-hand equipment platforms, provision of staff, etc.).

The stations that sponsor provide expert time, monitoring tools and feedback on their own approaches (circular economy, refurbished equipment, diversification, etc.), while the smaller stations benefit from a personalized look at their priority projects.

Giving prospects to small resorts

Village resorts, mid-altitude areas, and local sites play a key role in introducing people to skiing, supporting local life, and maintaining the social balance of the valleys, but they often have limited room to maneuver in the face of rising costs, increasing regulations, and unpredictable snow conditions. The goal of this sponsorship program is to provide them with leverage: to structure their projects, optimize investments, secure operations, and strengthen their position within the mountain tourism and economic ecosystem.

With this system, DSF also hopes to encourage broader cooperation between local stakeholders: operators, suppliers, municipalities, ski schools, farmers, continuing the partnerships already established with the pastoral and agricultural world on water sharing, alpine pasture management and landscape preservation.

“With this sponsorship program, we are amplifying what already makes our profession strong: a very concrete solidarity between large areas and small resorts. The challenge is simple: to ensure that no territory falls behind in the face of the climatic, economic and social challenges affecting the mountains,” emphasizes Anne Marty, president of Domaines Skiables de France.

An extension of existing solidarity

This sponsorship program extends and structures solidarity initiatives already implemented by DSF:

• Nivalliance, a pooled insurance fund against snow hazards, financed 100% by ski resorts, has redistributed more than €23 million since 2005 to the most exposed operators.

• Simplification actions aimed at the 100 smallest operators, pursued within the framework of DSF's CSR division, with the help of all working committees.

• The platform for second-hand equipment and the volunteer operations to dismantle obsolete installations illustrate a very concrete technical solidarity between large and small structures.

This new sponsorship process thus provides a clearer and more operational framework for a solidarity approach already well established in the profession.

Domaines Skiables de France (DSF) is the professional association for French ski resort and cable car operators. DSF represents 380 members, including 230 active members (ski lift and ski area operators) and approximately 150 associate members (suppliers, manufacturers, training centers, project managers, etc.). Ski areas are the primary draw for mountain resorts, which welcome 10 million tourists each winter, 7 million of whom participate in snow sports. Key players in the dynamics of mountain resorts, ski areas influence the economic activity of local stakeholders (shopkeepers, accommodation providers, ski and mountain professionals, etc.). The activity of ski areas is essential for maintaining employment and social cohesion in these regions. In the mountains, DSF members represent 18,500 employees across some twenty different professions. Every winter, more than 120,000 jobs in France (direct and indirect) depend on the opening of ski resorts (shops, accommodation, ski schools, resort services, etc.). With 54.78 million skier-days in 2024/2025, France ranks second in the world among ski destinations, behind the United States and ahead of Austria. www.domaines-skiables.fr