When Winter Tourism Getaways Become Summer Attractions
Photo Credit: The Hotel Mont Blanc in the French Alps is seeing a surge in international tourists in the summer. Hotel Mont Blanc
Skift Take
While once seen as just cold weather destinations, certain mountain towns in the Alps, the United States, and beyond are evolving their cultures and economies into year-round destinations with no compromise on things to do. Can they handle the crowds?
On Experience
Colin Nagy is a marketing strategist and writes on customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his writing here.
Summertime travel undoubtedly brings to mind the migration of tourists into the sun and onto sandy beaches. But the mountains in the United States and Europe are also making a strong, bid for tourist spend as they quickly move their economies beyond just the wintertime months to include all four seasons, with a particular surge in summer.
For winter sports enthusiasts, the appeal of the mountains in the off-season is a completely different experience. Hills that formerly housed icy ski slopes are in full bloom with wildflowers. The thinner, higher altitude means that the sun’s heat is tempered, and rivers surge with runoff from the melted snow.
It is a lush, night and day contrast to the wintertime months. Plus, the prices for lodging can be two thirds lower than in the winter, representing value for great hotels. A recent search on travel comparison sites saw a drop of over 65 percent from peak season winter rack rates to summer in a few Alps locations.
But without the resp
