France/Ski and Covid-19: Savoie and Haute-Savoie launch the Tourism Forum to boost the mountain economy

Faced with a probable white season due to the closure of ski lifts, the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie estimate their losses at 6 billion euros. With Savoie Mont Blanc Tourisme, they are launching the Tourism Forum to boost the region's economy.

"Theprospects are catastrophic with, for the two departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie alone, a loss of turnover estimated at 6 billion Euros, and 170,000 socio-professionals directly affected". It is in the face of this observation that Christian Monteil, President of the Haute-Savoie Departmental Council, and Hervé Gaymard, President of the Savoie Departmental Council, have decided to act.

On Saturday 23rd January, they announced in a press release that they wanted to launch the "Assises du tourisme" in order to revive the region's economy: "Acollective reflection and consultation is planned from the spring onwards with the elected representatives of the territory, the representatives of the socio-professional sectors, the State services, the banks and the insurances which will take the form of a territorial conference".

Contacted by telephone, Christian Monteil explains that the aim of this approach is first of all to "identify all the difficulties of themountain stakeholders" by making "an inventory of the blockages very quickly".

This survey work will be entrusted to Savoie Mont Blanc Tourisme, a council that brings together the two Alpine departments to promote the territory. Oncewe have drawn up a list at La Prévert of all the difficulties, in two or three months' time, we are going to identify possible actions for the two departments, based on territorial solidarity," he adds . In particular, we are going to provide support for local authorities".

The closure of the ski lifts is a ticking time bomb.

This unprecedented conference will also allow elected representatives to raise the issues to the Region and the State. "Theclosure of the ski lifts is a time bomb that will explode in our resorts, we must not waste time", warns Christian Monteil.

In their joint press release, the Departments also state that they want to imagine post-covid tourism. "Inthis situation, the responsibility of the public authorities is of course to do everything possible to ensure that no one is forgotten and we will see to it, but it is also to envisage as soon as possible the development of a new type of tourism. In this situation, the responsibility of the public authorities is of course to do everything possible to ensure that no one is forgotten and we will see to it, but it is also to envisage thefuture of a major activity for our territories, whose fragility in the face of the systemic crises that are shaking our societies is now being measured".

Under the aegis of the Savoie Mont Blanc Council, this conference will bring together all the mountain stakeholders to discuss the tourism of tomorrow. "Thiscrisis forces us to reinvent ourselves", admit the presidents of the Savoie and Haute-Savoie departments.

This project will be presented to the Savoie Mont Blanc Council during the next budget orientation debate, which will take place on Thursday 28 January.

Source: france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr