Tourisme et montagne

Tourist accommodation capacity represents the number of tourist beds in commercial accommodations (hotels, campsites, tourist residences, etc.) and non-commercial accommodations (second homes) included in each municipality. This indicator allows observation of the "gross" distribution of mountain tourism (where do tourists stay?). In this regard, the Alps (over 40%) and the Massif Central (nearly 30%) concentrate the majority of tourist beds in mountain municipalities.

Tourist accommodation is largely dominated by second homes (80% of tourist beds in mountain massifs). With one tourist bed in ten located in a campsite, open-air accommodation constitutes the second mode of tourist accommodation in metropolitan massifs and the primary commercial accommodation. Other beds are distributed among hotels (4%), tourist residences (4%), holiday villages, youth hostels and similar facilities (0.2%).

The tourist function rate expresses the ratio between the number of tourist beds and the resident population of a territory. Massif zones are particularly affected by population variations caused by tourism. While resident populations are mainly established in plains, tourists prefer medium and high mountain areas.

Corsica and parts of the Alps and Pyrenees are particularly affected by high tourist function rates. Affected municipalities often combine small resident populations with high accommodation capacity. These occasional imbalances can cause difficulties in maintaining and managing the environment in these territories (waste collection and treatment, wastewater sanitation, peaks in water or energy demand, etc.).

Tourist density expresses the concentration of tourist beds relative to a territory's area. This indicator also determines the tourist character of a municipality by studying the space occupied by tourist accommodations on its territory.

Municipalities with the highest tourist densities (> 1,000 beds/km²) are located in Corsica and in the Alps and Pyrenees. Locally, high tourist density can increase soil artificialisation and exert pressure on land for residents, particularly in cases of sprawl or dispersion of construction across the entire territory (fragmentation).

Winter sports represent a major economic pillar of mountain tourism. To study the environment in territories with ski resorts, SDES carried out a mapping of municipalities hosting resorts and an estimation of the land footprint of ski resorts. In 2017, ski resorts cover nearly 300,000 hectares, or 2.3% of mainland mountain areas.

Ski resort footprint in the Alps 2017

Ski resort footprint in the Pyrenees 2017

Ski resort footprint in Massif Central 2017

Ski resort footprint in Jura 2017

Ski resort footprint in Vosges 2017

Ski resort footprint in Corsica 2017