France has regained its position as the world’s leading skiing destination. With 56.1 million skier-days recorded during the 2025/2026 winter season, French ski resorts have overtaken Austria and the United States for the first time since the 2014/2015 season. This achievement comes as Domaines Skiables de France opens its annual conference in Valence on Thursday 24 September. Behind this return to the top lies a particularly strong season in the Alps and the Pyrenees, as well as a dynamic summer season that confirms the growing importance of mountain destinations in the tourism sector.
This marks a milestone that is as much symbolic as it is economic for the French mountains. At the end of the 2025/2026 season, France regained its position as the world’s leading ski destination with 56.1 million skier-days, according to figures published by Domaines Skiables de France (DSF). Visitor numbers have risen by 2.4 per cent compared with the previous winter and are 6 per cent above the average for the last four seasons. This performance means France has overtaken Austria, with 53.7 million skier-days (+3.7 per cent), and the United States, with 52.6 million.
France had not held the top spot in the world rankings since the winter of 2014/2015.
This result is all the more significant given that the 2025/2026 winter season was the third-best season ever recorded at French ski resorts, behind two record-breaking seasons: 2008/2009 with 58.6 million skier-days and 2012/2013 with 57.6 million.
A year earlier, France had recorded 54.8 million skier-days during the 2024/2025 winter season and was still ranked second in the world.
A return to the top spot in the world rankings on the eve of the DSF conference
These results have been unveiled just as the French mountain tourism sector is gathering in Valence, in the Drôme, for the annual conference of Domaines Skiables de France. The event opens on Thursday 24 September 2026 at the Valence Exhibition Centre. It brings together ski area and cable car operators, their partners and elected representatives from mountain regions to discuss the key economic, social and strategic challenges facing the sector.
France’s return to the top spot in the world rankings therefore provides a particularly favourable backdrop for the 2026 event, even though the national results reflect different situations across the various mountain ranges.
The Alps and the Pyrenees are boosting the French ski season
According to Domaines Skiables de France, the Alps and the Pyrenees enjoyed a particularly buoyant season and contributed significantly to the national performance.
Conditions were more variable in the mid-altitude mountain ranges. The Massif Central, the Jura Mountains and the Vosges had to cope with more variable snow cover throughout the winter. However, the overall picture of the season masks a succession of very different periods. Following an early start, a particularly favourable January and a strong winter holiday season, March in particular enabled ski resorts to regain the momentum that had been lacking for several seasons.
The first snowfalls as early as the end of November
The winter had got off to a promising start. Early snowfall as early as the end of November 2025 meant that many French ski resorts were able to open in good conditions.
The Christmas holidays then saw above-average snowfall nationwide. The Alps and the Pyrenees benefited fully from the snow cover that was already in place. The situation was more challenging in the Massif Central, the Jura Mountains and the Vosges, which were affected by a temporary spell of mild weather. However, this difference between the mountain ranges was soon to diminish with the return of much more wintry conditions at the start of January.
January: an exceptional mid-term break across all the mountain ranges
The return of cold weather, accompanied by further snowfall in early January, meant that all the French mountain ranges were able to open their ski areas to their full extent. The weather proved particularly favourable during the January half-term holidays.
Result: over this period, visitor numbers nationwide rose by 3 per cent compared with the previous winter and were 9 per cent higher than the average for the last four winters.
This period is proving particularly important for mid-mountain regions. The Vosges, the Jura Mountains and the Massif Central are enjoying the best conditions to make up for lost time following a more patchy start to the winter.
As at 6 February 2026, just before the peak of the winter holidays, cumulative visitor numbers at French ski resorts were 9 per cent above the four-year average. At the same time, the Alps and the Pyrenees continue to build on the lead they have established at national level.
A solid winter holiday season, with no surge in visitor numbers
The four weeks of the winter school holidays then kept visitor numbers in France at a high level. Throughout this strategic period for the resorts’ economies, visitor numbers remained very close to those recorded the previous winter and to the average for the last four seasons.
Two regions stand out in particular: the Southern Alps and the Jura Mountains. As at 6 March 2026, cumulative visitor numbers since the start of the season remain 5 per cent higher than the average for the previous four winters, whilst remaining at a level comparable to that seen at the same date last season.
March is finally back on a positive trend: +20 per cent
This is one of the most interesting indicators in the 2025/2026 annual report. The March school holidays saw a sharp rise in visitor numbers. For the first time since the post-Covid recovery, this period has seen an increase compared with the previous season: +20 per cent nationally.
This sharp rise has brought the March inter-holiday period back to the level of the average for the last four winters. The increase comes at a time when snow cover has remained generally above average and has particularly benefited the Jura Mountains.
However, this figure must be interpreted in the light of the relative weakness of previous March figures: the 20 per cent increase reflects a marked recovery in a seasonal period that had found it more difficult to return to its usual levels following the Covid period.
April confirms its importance with a 3 per cent rise in visitor numbers
Another important finding is that this trend does not come to an end with the winter holidays. The end of the season, which includes, in particular, the Easter weekend, saw an increase of 3 per cent compared with the previous year.
For Domaines Skiables de France, this trend confirms the vitality of April, a period that remains structurally important not only for the resorts but also for the economy of the valleys as a whole. It also demonstrates the ability of ski areas to extend their operating season whenever snow conditions and the tourist appeal of the mountains allow.
56.1 million skier-days: a record-breaking season for France
At the end of the winter season, the total therefore stood at 56.1 million skier-days. This result places the 2025/2026 season in third place amongst the best seasons ever recorded in France and confirms the high level of visitor numbers at French ski resorts.
The DSF sees this as confirmation of the public’s fondness for skiing and the mountains, driven by several factors: the great outdoors, skiing, the thrills and moments shared at high altitude. The trade association also highlights the French sector’s ability to adapt, the level of investment made by operators and their operational expertise to explain the resorts’ ability to maintain high visitor numbers throughout the winter.
Investment in the sector remains substantial: €555 million was invested by French ski resorts in 2025, according to data published by DSF, which is approximately 50 per cent higher than the average for the decade and represents 32 per cent of the operators’ pre-tax turnover.
The French mountains are also becoming more popular in summer
However, the report presented at the conference is not limited to the winter season. The indicators for summer 2026 reinforce another structural trend: the French mountains are gradually establishing themselves as a summer destination in their own right.
During the peak season, between 4 July and 22 August 2026, the occupancy rate reached 65.8 per cent, representing an increase of 2.5 per cent compared with the summer of 2025. The peak was observed during the week of 8 August, when the occupancy rate reached 80.7 per cent.
When the analysis is extended to cover the period from 13 June to 11 September, the average occupancy rate stands at 52.7 per cent, which is one percentage point higher than in 2025. The end of August contributed significantly to this result.
The week of 22 August thus rose by 2.3 points, whilst the occupancy rate for August as a whole ultimately stood at 72.8 per cent, up 0.7 points.
‘Coolcations’, diversification and events are boosting the summer
There are several factors behind this increase. In particular, the search for milder temperatures during periods of intense heat is fuelling the phenomenon of ‘coolcations’ – holiday breaks spent in cooler destinations.
The mountains also benefit from the diversification of their tourism offering and major events capable of attracting large numbers of visitors, starting with the Tour de France and the numerous festivals organised in mountain regions. Above all, the data show that all the major mountain ranges are growing.
The Pyrenees, the most popular mountain range in the summer
The Pyrenees top the list with an occupancy rate of 55.7 per cent for the season, up 1.2 percentage points. The mountain range even reached a peak of 79.4 per cent in August. The Northern Alps, for their part, recorded an occupancy rate of 50.8 per cent, up 1.3 percentage points. The Southern Alps also maintained a high level, with 52.3 per cent occupancy. These results underscore the growing importance of the summer season in tourism activity in mountain regions.
Business accommodation has exceeded a 50 per cent occupancy rate
This trend is also evident in the analysis of accommodation types. The commercial accommodation sector has surpassed the 50 per cent occupancy mark, with an increase of 1.3 percentage points. The private-to-private rental segment remains even higher, at 55.5 per cent occupancy. Its peak season saw significant growth, with +2.3 percentage points in July and +1.5 percentage points in August.
The summer data is sourced from G2A, which tracks, amongst other things, trends in tourism activity and occupancy rates in mountain destinations. Studies published by G2A in 2026 provide broader confirmation of the key role played by mountain destinations and tourist groups in summer visitor numbers.
An industry on which more than 120,000 jobs depend every winter
Beyond the world rankings, visitor figures provide an indication of the economic importance of skiing in the French regions. Domaines Skiables de France is the trade association representing French ski area and cable car operators.
It brings together 380 members, comprising 230 active members – mainly ski lift operators or ski area operators – and around 150 associate members, including suppliers, manufacturers, training centres and project managers. Ski resorts are one of the main factors driving the appeal of French ski destinations. Every winter, these resorts welcome around 10 million tourists, of whom 7 million take part in winter sports.
The activities of ski resorts therefore have a direct impact on those of many other economic players: accommodation providers, retailers, ski schools, mountain professionals and service providers operating in the resorts and valleys.
DSF members alone account for 18,500 employees, spread across around twenty different sectors. More broadly, more than 120,000 direct and indirect jobs in France depend each winter on the opening of ski resorts, whether in the ski lifts themselves, accommodation, shops, ski schools or the various services available in the resorts. DSF regularly highlights the pivotal role that the skiing industry plays in employment and the economic life of the valleys.
A world number one who is now setting his sights on new challenges
France’s return to the top spot in the world rankings is undoubtedly the major highlight of the 2025/2026 season. However, the report presented by Domaines Skiables de France also highlights two more structural trends.
On the one hand, skiing visitor numbers remain high, with the third-best season on record and the ability to attract several million skiers every winter. On the other hand, mountain tourism continues to gradually expand beyond the winter season alone, as illustrated by the occupancy rates recorded during the summer of 2026.
These two trends are now at the heart of the sector’s thinking: maintaining the appeal and economic performance of the winter season, whilst developing a mountain region capable of generating economic activity and employment over an increasingly longer period of the year.
In Valence, on 24 and 25 September 2026, operators, suppliers, elected representatives and mountain industry professionals will have the opportunity to discuss their strategies regarding these issues. This year, they will do so against a particularly significant backdrop: eleven years after losing its top spot, France is once again the world’s number one ski destination.
Sources: Domaines Skiables de France for the 2025/2026 winter figures; G2A for the 2026 summer visitor figures.
