Sustainable Tourism Law

THE MOUNTAIN, A TERRITORY FOR A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW IN FRANCE 375 Obviously, ski became more accessible to tourists, given that ski resorts were exclusively dedicated to this practice. With the development of ski resorts, tourists had the possibility to visit mountains at altitude and the chance to stay on the spot to practice winter sports. The success of skiing activities led to the appearance of other snow sports, such as snow surf, freestyle, kitesurf, etc. This contributed to the success of these activities. The professionals of sport tourism in mountains further expanded their offer to other outdoors activities, in particular for the summer season. We can mention the success stories of mountain bike, canyoning, paragliding and hang-gliding, etc. 3 This enhanced the economic development of mountain resorts outside the winter season: the summer season now shows rises up to 51% of nights compared to the 33% of nights at winter time 4 . I.3. The real importance of tourism in French massifs Nowadays, French mountains are considered as one of the preferential destinations in France by French tourists, just after the coastline, for both winter and summer seasons. Ski activities are not the sole motive to visit and stay in the mountains anymore. The French skiing area also remains an attractive territory for foreign tourists. The number of international visitors is significant, as France ranked in the second place in 2014 with 55.3 million ski-days 5 , just behind the United States. II. A NEW APPROACH TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN MOUNTAINS II.1. Mixed results with past tourism developments in French mountains The Snow Plan allowed a rapid growth of the mountain tourism and resulted in a notable economic success. Indeed, the benefits of tourism activities in French mountains laid the groundwork for economic and social development in regions at altitude which were mainly based on agriculture and contributed to slow down the rural exodus. This also benefited the reputation of the French skiing area. 3 La montagne, territoire d’innovation, Juristourisme 2017, n°198 p18. 4 Source: Atout France 2017. 5 Source: Domaine Skiable de France, 16 Sept. 2014.