7 business ideas for the ski season in France

By Valérie Aston on 13 November 2019 · Viewed 2531 times · Questions

The ski season will be starting soon and could be an opportunity for you if you live in one of the 350 French ski resorts. Here is a list of seven business ideas that you could register just in time for the winter season.

7 business ideas for the ski season in France

  • Ski instructor
  • Ski chalet
  • Ski chambres d'hôtes, table d'hôtes
  • Chef à domicile 
  • Conciergerie services for chalet owners (changeovers, cleaning services)
  • Babysitting services
  • Relaxation after skiing (sophrology, yoga, reiki, etc).

Mountain tourism trends in France

With 53.8 million ski days last winter*, France is the third destination for skiing, after the USA and Austria. Atout France** also estimates that the economic weight of mountain tourism represents 9 billion euros of turnover, with 30% of foreign customers.

France Montagne talks about new trends for ski stays, such as ski hostels, luxury chalets and the increase of ski chambres d'hotes. Looking at my customers over the last few years, the trends for cosy properties providing an in house chef and relaxation is also on the increase. Platforms such as Booking and AirBnB also help to boost the number of stays from foreign visitors and outside of the holidays season.

Read more on mountain tourism in France: La Montagne,  Atout FranceAlti-Mag and G2A trends for 2019-2020.

Help to register your mountain business

You have already been working on your project and want to get your business set up? Here is how I can help you:


Valerie Lemiere: Start Business in France

About the author: Valérie Aston

I've been helping people who want to start or already have a small business set up in France since 2009. After graduating from a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, I worked as a senior marketing consultant in the UK and France for various International companies. I worked as a conseillère en création d'entreprises (senior business advisor) for BGE here in France and run this independent business on a daily basis.