Sports and leisure: equipment and development
With the development of four-season mountain tourism, trends in sports and leisure facilities and equipment are evolving, taking into account the expectations of vacationers as well as environmental concerns.
Offering activities that can ensure year-round tourism is one of the challenges for ski resorts. By developing personalized experiences, for example in the wellness and health areas of hotels, the profile of mountain tourists has expanded to include families, non-winter sports practitioners, and nature lovers. Promoting summer activities in the mountains, such as hiking, mountain biking, climbing, and water sports, also contributes to this evolution.
Developing While Preserving the Environment
Today, environmental sustainability is considered from the construction of infrastructure dedicated to sports or leisure. Multipurpose infrastructures now allow for year-round use. The use of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials is at the forefront of engineering firms’ considerations. In France, the international Mountain Planet trade show brings together actors in sustainable mountain development and showcases green and eco-responsible technologies, such as the creation of a data center near a leisure center to heat the swimming pool.
Every two years, Mountain Planet organizes panel discussions and conferences on the future of the mountains in winter and summer. State-of-the-art and perspectives are presented by experts in various fields. Learn more about the trade show.
Innovation at the Service of Users
Technological innovation is at the heart of the biennial trade show held in Grenoble. There are many mobile applications for planning sports or leisure activities. They help to navigate hiking trails, access real-time information such as snow conditions for skiing, weather, and the best transport solutions to minimize carbon footprint, etc. Innovations also facilitate safety for practicing extreme sports in the mountains, with connected sensors, for example.
Also present at the international Mountain Planet trade show are exhibitors working on adapting infrastructure to make sports and mountain activities accessible to a diverse public, including people with reduced mobility.
Among the business sectors represented at Mountain Planet:
- Development of sports or leisure facilities
- Development of leisure spaces: archery ranges, equestrian areas, camping sites, free-flight areas, climbing areas, golf courses
- Engineering offices specialized in bike/MTB facilities: bike parks, mountain bike trails, pump tracks
- Chalets
- Ski schools (alpine, Nordic, snowboarding lessons)
- Via ferrata equipment
- Sports facilities: swimming pools, saunas, ice rinks, tennis, squash, water parks
- Snow gardens
- Karts, snowmobiles, quads, all-terrain vehicles
- Summer mountain sports and leisure equipment: mountain biking, grass skiing, artificial ski slopes, summer tobogganing
- Winter mountain sports and leisure equipment: downhill skiing, cross-country skiing
- Mountain accessibility / disability
- Fitness trails
- Small leisure air transport (helicopter and airplane)
- Aerial rides
- Flooring, grating, metal stairs
- Moving walkways
- Transportation of goods and people (tourism, business)