The Savoie region, which encompasses the French departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, has a thriving tourism industry. The Savoie Mont Blanc brand represents the region in this sector.
The tourism industry first emerged in the 18th century, initially centered around the appeal of thermal springs, followed by mountains and landscapes. Since the 1970s, the winter season has been the region's primary focus, with 60% of France's tourism coming to the region's hundred or so winter sports resorts. However, the region's other assets include a rich past, with historical sites found in cities and remote valleys alike, numerous lakes (Annecy; Bourget; Léman; Aiguebelette), and a wide range of sporting activities (water sports, mountain sports, aerial sports).
History
Birth of tourism
The geographer Jean Miège underlines the significance of water as the primary asset and driving force behind the emergence of tourism in the former duchy of Savoy. Despite the Romans' early utilization of these resources, their potential was overlooked in subsequent centuries. However, the 16th and 17th centuries saw a fascinating rediscovery of these resources. Initially, water was extracted from the shores of the Alpine lakes of Le Bourget and Léman, then transported more profoundly into the intra-Alpine valleys of Faucigny and Tarentaise.
Many prominent authors have made use of the landscape in their descriptions. Notable figures referenced in the region include Montaigne, Montesquieu, Hugo, Dumas, Lamartine, Rousseau, Byron, and Shelley. From the 18th century onwards, Savoy became a popular destination for the Grand Tour of English aristocrats, a phenomenon traced back to Joseph Addison (1672-1719). A statesman, poet, and the founder of literary journalism, Addison was also a friend of Prince Eugène de Savoie-Carignan. In 1699, he embarked on a three-year tour of Europe, which undoubtedly inspired the Grand Tour. In particular, he visited the shores of Lake Geneva, which he described in detail and enthusiastically in his account, "Remarks on Several Parts of Italy". He was the driving force behind the trend of the Grand Tour among young Englishmen, a practice that young Americans later adopted. However, his assessment of the Savoyard shore of the Chablais region lake is that it is a place where there is "nothing but misery and poverty."
In 1741, William Windham (1697-1761) and Richard Pococke (1704-1765) discovered the Chamouni glaciers. Their accounts were disseminated through the salons of London and Paris. The Arve Valley and Chamonix, in particular, became the flagship destination for this nascent tourist industry. Despite the mountainous setting, the main attraction was the "glacières de Savoye", and more specifically the "glacières de Chamonix". It wasn't until 1786, however, that Chamonix became the mountaineering capital of the world, with the first ascent of Mont Blanc by Chamonix guide Jacques Balmat and his team.
Apart from this passage to the very heart of the Alps, tourism remained limited to the valley bottoms and mainly to the lakeside towns and villages around Lake Geneva (Geneva, Yvoire, Excenevex, Sciez, Thonon-les-Bains, Évian-les-Bains, Meillerie, Saint-Gingolph), Le Bourget (Aix-les-Bains) and Annecy. The development of lake tourism, including activities such as strolls along the shore or by boat, began in the 1830s. As time passed, tourists began to venture closer to the peaks, coinciding with the region's mountaineering development, particularly after 1850. The appeal of the mountains prompted the growth of towns such as Chamonix, Brides, Salins, and Pralognan. In the 18th century, the spa town of Aix-les-Bains boasted eighteen hotels and guesthouses, while Chamonix had less than a dozen. In 1895, these various resorts on the plains or at the bottom of the valley welcomed approximately 100,000 customers. Following the installation of the Montenvers railroad in 1908 and the Mont-Blanc tramway in 1912, efforts were made to attract tourists other than those engaged in sports activities. It was in the late 1950s that mass tourism reached the Savoyard valleys, including the summits.
Thermal baths
The spa phenomenon benefited from the medicalization of the late 20th century, which enabled Savoie to develop its potential. The spa towns offered a range of activities that combined relaxation with discovering the mountain environment, appealing to the European elite. The number of visitors to Aix-les-Bains' thermal baths began to increase in 1876, following the opening of the rail link to France (1858) and, most notably, the Fréjus rail tunnel in 1871, which connected Aix-les-Bains to Italy. In 1895, an estimated 100,000 tourists availed themselves of the therapeutic waters. Initially, the towns situated in the Pre-Alps region benefited from these first visits.
The promotion of the various sites was mainly due to the patronage of the European aristocracy. Aix-les-Bains was honored by the visits of Queen Victoria (1886, 1890), Emperor Pedro II of Alcantara of Brazil (1888), George I of Greece (1889-1912), Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1896), and Leopold of Belgium. In 1865, Évian-les-Bains was granted permission to use the name "les Bains", formalizing a practice that had emerged a few decades earlier in connection with the development of transportation. Thonon-les-Bains also saw a boost from this trend, as did the smaller resort of Challes-les-Eaux on the outskirts of Chambéry. Subsequently, spa visitors became more forthcoming as they explored towns inland closer to the mountains. Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, on the road to Chamonix and Mont Blanc, was the first to benefit from these tourists. Saint-Gervais-les-Bains has been a developing destination since 1806 when notary Joseph-Marie Gontard discovered the springs. The Tarentaise Valley also boasts several other sites, including Brides-les-Bains (established in 1819), Salins-les-Thermes, and La Léchère (which opened its first establishment in 1897).
These towns rapidly developed their infrastructure, including theaters and casinos, to attract the European elite. For instance, the Evian-les-Bains casino, designed by architect Ernest Hébrard, prompted J.-M. Marquis to describe it as "a perplexing reproduction of Constantinople's Sainte-Sophie [...] the lavish expanded structure of its dome, with its ribs accentuated by garlands of foliage, evokes the grandeur of a Byzantium adapted to the freshness of Lake Geneva."
Winter sports
Alpine tourism originated from the mountaineering movement in Chamonix at the end of the 19th century. Several hotel chalets were constructed, including the Col de la Vanoise, inaugurated by Félix Faure in 1897. Additionally, several refuges were built, such as the Vallot observatory, which was associated with a shelter in 1892, and the Grands Mulets hut, which was completed in 1897. The actual surge in winter tourism commenced with the advent of skiing. The presence of slopes and snow does not guarantee the existence of a skiing industry. As with any social phenomenon, the development of skiing was dependent on the actions of a few external or local players. The railroads and spa resorts have ensured a steady stream of tourists. The development of skiing in the late 1880s and the creation of the first ski slopes in the Alps (Saint-Moritz in Switzerland) led to the development of the first ski resorts based in villages such as Chamonix, Megève (a resort launched by a sports journalist and Baroness Noémie de Rothschild in 1921) and Pralognan-la-Vanoise.
The inaugural Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix in 1924, although downhill skiing still needed to be featured. However, the first winter resorts were already emerging. The development of Savoyard Resorts unfolded in four distinct phases, each marked by the significant involvement of different entities: local entrepreneurs, the state, or private developers. This underscores the crucial role played by these stakeholders in shaping the Alpine tourism landscape. Local authorities recognized the potential of the new winter tourism boom and regional authorities initiated programs to develop new ski resorts at higher altitudes (1,600-1,800 m). These are referred to as second-generation resorts. In 1945, the Savoie General Council initiated the Courchevel 1800 project in the commune of Saint-Bon-Tarentaise. It was based on a report launched by the Vichy government in 1943. The departmental road leads to the departmental chalet, to which hotels and chalets are added without accurate urban planning. Courchevel is the only example in Savoie. Chamrousse and L'Alpe d'Huez, in neighboring Isère, are other French examples.From 1975 onward, a new concept emerged in the resort industry: the so-called 4th-generation or "village resorts." While not a homogenous group, these villages were created from scratch or built around existing towns. They emphasized traditional uses and complemented existing activities while striving to integrate better into the surrounding area and restore the human dimension. Examples from Savoie include Montchavin (1972), Valmorel (1975), Les Karellis, and Bonneval-sur-Arc.
Economy
Promoting the region The two Savoyard departments collaborate to promote their shared territory. As early as the 1930s, the Comité Regional Savoie-Mont-Blanc, based in Aix-les-Bains, established a Maison de Savoie in Paris. The premises were inaugurated on Avenue des Champs-Élysées on May 12, 1934.
The two departmental tourism agencies work together to promote the Savoie region and the "Savoie Haute-Savoie" brand under the impetus of the Assemblée des Pays de Savoie (APS), created in 2001. The agreement between the two agencies involved the dissolution of the Maison de Savoie in Paris and the implementation of a new marketing strategy by forming a new association under the French law of 1901. Following a study carried out in 2005, the choice was made to adopt the Savoie Mont Blanc and Savoie Mont Blanc Tourisme (SMBT) structure as the destination brand for the region. The APS approved the plan on March 27 of the following year. The two vice-presidents of the General Councils of the two departments in charge of tourism assume the role of presidents of the Savoie Mont Blanc Tourisme Association. The new brand was launched in the last quarter of 2006. Operating budgets are estimated at €1.7 million and €4 million for communications for the first two years. The brand is headquartered on Avenue du Parmelan in Annecy. However, the structure is completed by two other reception areas in Chambéry and Paris, at 20 rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs (1st arrondissement).
Local heritage is also promoted around the Association des Guides du Patrimoine des Pays de Savoie, which divides the region into six tourist areas based on provincial boundaries. These are: to the north, in Haute-Savoie, the French Chablais with Lake Geneva and the Chablais massif; the Faucigny with the Arve Valley; the Genevois with Lake Annecy; and to the south, in Savoie, the Savoie Propre with the Savoyard Avant-Pays, Lac du Bourget and Combe de Savoie; and the Maurienne and Tarentaise Art and History regions. The region encompasses the Mont-Blanc and Giffre valleys, the Genevois with Lake Annecy, and the Savoie Propre with the Savoyard Avant-Pays, Lac du Bourget, and Combe de Savoie, as well as the Maurienne and Tarentaise Art and History regions, all of which are located to the south. The group of Savoie guides was initially known as "Guides de Conflans", established in 1964 by Abbé Marius Hudry. The name was subsequently changed to "Guides du Patrimoine des Pays de Savoie" in 1985.
Tourism in numbers