Tignes - from a “white” to a
“green” summer
A study of Tignes’ development in alpine summer tourism
Tignes – från en ”vit” till en ”grön” sommar.
En studie av Tignes utveckling inom alpin sommarturism
Linda Stridh
Faculty of art and social sciences Tourism studies
15 ECTS
Supervisor: Marcus Ednarsson Spring 2014
Abstract
This study focuses on Tignes’ development of their summer season. Tignes is a tourist resort in the Northern French Alps. Tignes has long been known for their glacier and tourism, which, as an industry, has been the major focus since the original village of Tignes was put underwater by the development of a large dam. Tignes is also known for its connection with Val d’Isère, together creating the Espace Killy ski area.
The summer in Tignes used to be known for summer skiing on the Grande Motte glacier, 3656 meters above sea level. However, like many other winter resorts, Tignes has seen the effects of global warming and climate change and these effects were especially evident in the summer. A decision was thus taken to diversify attractions and try to create a different, yet more classic, summer season.
Through interviews with resort management and access to visitor statistics as well as other qualitative data it has been made clear that Tignes has developed the summer season according to a well-planned business strategy and has step by step implemented new infrastructures, new attractions and other marketing strategies in an effort to develop and increase summer tourism.
So far these strategies have resulted in a great increase in visitors and in their diversification.
More detailed data is needed for further studies and analysis of visitor demographics.
However it is clear that the summer season still is very much reliant on the winter season for its existence. There still seems to be a larger potential for the summer season and Tignes Développement, the resort management, appears to now be working proactively in favor of this.
Clear links can be done to theoretical models and concepts as well as previous studies and this has provided another dimension and a clear view of where Tignes stands in its development as a successful alpine summer resort.
Keywords: alpine summer tourism, tourism development, climate change, management, visitors.
Foreword
I would especially like to thank Sébastien Mérignargues, director of Tignes Développement, (director of the resort) for his time and effort in helping me gather material for this study and for the interview, as well as Coralie Deschamps. Without the collaboration of Tignes
Développement this study would not have been possible.
I would also like to thank Marcus Ednarsson, my supervisor at Karlstad University for answering my questions and helping me in the writing process.
Linda Stridh, Tignes 2014
Contents
1. Introduction 6
1.1Background and research area 6
1.2 Purpose 7
1.3 Research questions 7
1.4 Limitations 7
1.5 Other definitions 7
1.6 Outline 7
2. Methodology 9
2.1 Scientific approach 9
2.2 Choice of Method 9
2.3 Qualitative interviews 10
2.4 Statistical Analysis 11
2.5 Validity and Reliability 12
2.6 Limitations 12
2.7 Sample selection and evaluation of sources 13
3. Theoretical background 14
3.1 Seasonality 14
3.2.1 Attractions and attractiveness 14
3.2.2 Attractions as a commercial product 15
3.3 Tourist types 16
3.4 Destination development lifecycle 16
3.5 Climate change 18
3.6 Previous studies 19
4. Results 20
4.1 Results from interview and other qualitative results
from document analysis 20
4.2 Statistical results 21
4.2.1 General statistics overview 22
4.2.2 Tignes’ development compared to other resorts 24
4.2.3 Bike park statistics 25
4.2.4 Carte Sportignes statistics 27
4.2.5 Winter vs. summer statistics 28
5. Analysis 30
6. Conclusions 34
7. Reflections 35
8. Bibliography 36
9. Appendix 39
9.1 Questionnaire for interview in original language,
translated version in italics. 39
List of Tables
Table 1. Developments within the summer season 22
Table 2. Tignes visitor statistics 23
Table 3. Tignes vs. other resorts 24
Table 4. Time series analysis: Tignes vs. other resorts 24 Table 5. Index calculation Bike park vs. visitors 25 Table 6. Time series analysis: Bike park vs. general number of visitors 25 Table 7. Index calculation: Carte Sportignes use vs. distribution 27 Table 8. Times series analysis: Carte Sportignes use vs. distribution 27 Table 9. Index calculation: winter vs. summer frequentation 28 Table 10. Times series analysis: winter vs. summer development 28 Table 11. Summer vs. winter frequentation percentage 29
6 1. Introduction
1.1 Background and research area
Tignes is located in the French Alps and is widely recognized as a skiing destination and winter resort. The village of Tignes was previously located in what is now known as the Dam of Chevril. Due to a need for power supply, the dam was built and finished in 1952, at which point Tignes was relocated to further up the mountain.1 It was not until after this that one started developing tourism activities. Tignes now consists of 5 smaller villages, Tignes les Brevières, Tignes Les Boisses, Tignes Le Lavachet, Tignes Le Lac and Tignes Val Claret, ranging in altitude from ~1550m to 2100m. In terms of tourism, Tignes is often referred to as part of the Espace Killy ski area, which it forms together with its neighbor resort Val d’Isère.
Part of what is considered included in the Tignes ski area is also a part of the Vanoise National Park2 which comes with its own restrictions in terms of use and development.
Tignes as a tourist destination is changing due to various reasons and particularly so in the summer. Lately within tourism there have been debates about climate change and how winter seasons are declining, and Tignes cannot exclude itself from this discussion. Within many winter resorts, one can observe “responsive” actions against effects of global warming and actions taken to reduce its effect on income from tourism. Irrespectively of what one believes to be the reason for declining winters, the summer season is starting to become more and more important as a way of reducing the pressure on the winter season and reducing seasonality issues.
This also represents a sort of destination development that is very interesting and the focus on this phenomenon has fairly recently become part of scientific studies.
However, these studies have focused on winter destinations developing a “green” summer attraction from previously not having a summer season at all.3 However, this particular study of Tignes will focus on the process of going from a “white” summer to a “green” summer, as Tignes used to be skiable all year round with the Grande Motte Glacier as the main attraction, something which is no longer the case. To an outsider, this is what seems to be the reason that has prompted a development in other summer attractions, but it is something that needs to be investigated further to substantiate the claim. Superficially, one can observe the creation of new attractions as well as the use of other incentives to attract new types of visitors. A search for other similar resorts with glaciers gave mainly results about how to preserve glacier tourism, sometimes with fairly extreme measures4, but do mention diversifying as an option5. The focus of these studies was thus different than that which I wish to pursue. Other studies, as mentioned above, focus on “regular” alpine resorts.
The fact that Tignes is not developing a new summer destination but merely changing its attractions is what makes this study different from previous studies, meaning also that my study can then serve to give more light to destinations that do include glaciers as an attraction and maybe separate these from other mountainous resorts. Changing attractions can also mean a change in image and branding which may be relevant to destination
attractiveness. When it comes to branding within tourism destinations, it is still however
1 http://www.tignes.net/en/practical-info/a-little-history-1213.html, accessed on 2014-06-04
2 http://www.parcnational-vanoise.fr/fr/documentation-en-ligne/doc_download/376-carte-presentation-generale- du-parc-national-de-la-vanoise.html, accessed on 2014-05-08
3 Flagestad, Arvid., Svensk, Göran., Nordin, Sara. & Lexhagen, Maria. (2004) Vintersportorten – året runt, Harkman, Linda. (2007) Det gröna sälen – En studie om sommarturism i Sverige.
4 Purdie, Heather. (2013) Glacier Retreat and Tourism: Insights from New Zealand. Mountain Research and Development. 33(4): 463-472. p.470
5 Furunes, Trude & Mykletun, Reidar J. (2012) Frozen Adventure at Risk? A 7 year Follow-up Study of Norwegian Glacier Tourism. p.345
7
largely dependent on the attractions in the resort. The same is true for visitors, who come there mainly for the attraction. It is then up to the resort to build a coherent image with the visitors. Thus creating a harmonized image of what they offer and what the tourists want to identify with. Tignes thus faces this challenge as well, going from unique summer skiing into a more traditional summer role including downhill biking, hiking etc.
All of the above thus creates an interesting area of study. The goal will thus be to investigate the resort of Tignes, as a case study, in relation to this recent summer season development.
1.2 Purpose
My purpose with the study is to investigate how Tignes has changed in terms of developing a multi-attraction summer season from being an all year round winter resort.
1.3 Research questions
To answer the purpose above I have decided on three study questions that are worth pursuing in order to obtain relevant results:
- Which actions have been taken to develop Tignes as a summer resort and why?
- What are the consequences?
- How has the development changed the number and types of visitors?
1.4 Limitations
The study is limited to the sole resort of Tignes and focuses on the summer season
development as this is judged to be the more substantial change in destination development.
Actions taken during the winter season will therefore not be discussed if they do not impact the summer season or are referred to in the results found. A limitation like this is necessary as the scope would otherwise be too large to handle within the restrictions of the study.
1.5 Other definitions
Tignes is used both to describe the resort and sometimes together with the management.
However, when the resort management and their organization in particular are mentioned, they will be referred to as Tignes Développement or TD in short. Guests, clients, tourists and visitors refer to people staying in resort for more than a day, otherwise they will be referred to as day trippers or excursionists.
1.6 Outline
The essay starts with an abstract giving a short summary of the study as a whole. Thereafter the study starts with some background information as well as a presentation of the purpose and the corresponding research questions corresponding as well as the limitations of the study and other relevant definitions. This part presents why Tignes has been chosen and why the resort is a relevant area of study.
In the methodological chapter, the choice of both qualitative and quantitative methods is described as well as the respective implications for the study at hand. Discussions on validity and reliability as well as sections on limitations and sample selections are included in this chapter.
8
Following this, the theoretical background and related scientific concepts are presented. These are seasonality, attraction and attractiveness, attractions as a commercial product, tourist types, destination development lifecycle, climate change and a brief summary of previous studies. This chapter serves to give a greater depth and explain in detail the touristic concepts related to the study.
The empirical results are presented afterwards. Firstly the results from the qualitative interviews with Sébastien Mérignargues and Coralie Deschamps. Secondly the results from the statistical analysis of the documents Réunion Économique Publique and Bilan été 2013 including time series analysis tables and graphs. Some other qualitative data from these documents have also been included.
An analysis of the results as well as conclusions and reflections conclude the essay and give a complete picture of the research having been carried out through the study and the findings.
9 2. Methodology
2.1 Scientific approach
I have used two separate approaches in my study as I have used two different methods for which they are respectively relevant. For my qualitative interviews I had a hermeneutic approach where there was an element of participatory observation and the content was analyzed. Hermeneutics as a concept in itself means to interpret6 and means that the researcher’s analysis and interpretation is of value and helps complete the subjective reality described in for example an interview. It is thus also the subject’s interpretation of reality that is of worth to study and not an “objective fact”. A certain element of previous local
knowledge should also be noted as having been used in the study.
For the quantitative method; statistical analys, a positivistic approach was used as it is focused on facts and numbers and the data was per se not interpreted. According to Hume as cited by author’s DePoy and Gitlin, the underlying concept is that there is a discrepancy between facts and how we interpret these.7 Focus according to a positivistic approach should thus be on the facts. Veal presents this approach as studying the subject from “outside” through facts and observation and using set models to explain results.8 This will also help achieve more objectivity within the research and analysis.9
2.2 Choice of method
My intended purpose with the study was to investigate how Tignes, a French alpine resort, has transformed into a multi-attraction year round resort from a single attraction (skiing) resort, through focusing on the summer season development, and furthermore the
consequences thereof. Evaluating consequences or effects also mean judging the
successfulness of the development. The appropriate method for doing so will invariably depend on what the purpose and goal of the study is and the research questions used, as is described below.
Based on the purpose this meant investigating; how has Tignes’ summer season changed in relation to a change in attractions? Tignes is different to other traditional skiing destinations in the sense that they have been able to use the natural attraction of a glacier to attract visitors in the summer and a previous slogan has been “Ski for 365 days a year”10 However, due to various reasons the glacier is receding11 and the use has started becoming more restricted in the summer period and Tignes is now trying to diversify its attractions.
The purpose in itself is fairly complex, what does it mean to be successful? To understand the situation and how well Tignes is doing in the summer, using new attractions, a quantitative result will provide a fairly clear image. Results of this kind can be obtained through for example statistics on visitor/tourist nights spent in the area. This is a relatively easy and common method of measuring success of a tourist destination. However this would only provide the data of what has happened and does not give insight into the management of the resort development, in terms of how and why these numbers are changing. And the quantitative data would therefore only provide a basic image of what is happening in resort.
6 http://www.ne.se/hermeneutik, accessed on 2014-06-06
7 DePoy, Elizabeth & Gitlin, Laura N. (1999) Forskning – en introduktion. p.30
8 Veal, Anthony James. (2006) Leisure and Tourism: a practical guide. p.37
9 DePoy & Gitlin. p.31
10 http://www.skivintage.com/PBSCProduct.asp?ltmID=13122916, accessed on 2014-03-08
11 https://glacierchange.wordpress.com/tag/grande-motte-glacier-retreat-melt/, accessed on 2014-06-04, http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4QDCN_grande-motte-tignes, accessed on 2014-06-04
10
Having someone “explain” in a deeper sense, the actions behind the numbers could allow for a deeper understanding. Eggeby et al. states that statistics on their own can never prove causal correlation, but that it still carries a lot of weight within research.12 This means that on their own, quantitative results may not be sufficient and one needs to be careful in what
conclusions are drawn from the numbers.
Patel et al. also means that the formulation of the study purpose indicates what type of research method is appropriate; in this case the formulation is open and allows for a qualitative and/or quantitative method.13 As the purpose is to gain the most complete picture, a one-method approach cannot be deemed sufficient in this case. If the purpose of the study had been simpler in terms of evaluating how much summer tourism has increased, a simpler quantitative study might have been sufficient. However, as the research question becomes more complex, so does the research method. I have thus chosen to use a multiple method approach, collecting both qualitative and quantitative data to the study, and then perform the appropriate analysis as to be able to fully comprehend the situation that is being researched.
2.3 Qualitative interviews
Qualitative interviews are fairly complex and time consuming but also very flexible14. To minimize error, due to memory and in understanding, during the analysis process, the interview was recorded15 using a phone application called Smart Voice recorder16, allowing easy transfer to digital format. The audio file was easily comprehendible and sound was deemed to be very good. Even though the use of a recording device may somehow have disrupted the subject17 this allowed a more correct representation afterwards, which was vital for the analysis phase. The interview subject agreed that that the interview would be recorded and that it was preferable for accuracy afterwards. Disruption is therefore deemed to have been minimal. The transcription phase was very long as to gain a correct and accurate text file of what was said, which was then used for analysis. The analysis used to extract important information was that of sentence concentration as described by Kvale.18 This allows long texts to be more concentrated and key concepts are identified and extracted and put into a more usable form. This method of analysis was deemed most appropriate for the subject of the interview and the results. Key concepts and sentences that were extracted are presented in the results below.
To gain the most detailed information through this interview method, it was conducted in the primary language of the subject, namely French. Using the subject’s maternal language avoided any confusion about what was asked, whereas an interview in a second language firstly might have interfered with the amount of information that could be conveyed by the subject and secondly added unnecessary stress to the interview situation, as explained by Patel and Davidson.19 No language issue was noticed during the interviewing process, the transcription or the analysis phase. A semi-structured interview allowed some freedom within the interview, although the results may be more varied as a consequence20. The questions were determined in advance and were sent to the interviewee for preparation to
12 Eggeby, Eva & Söderberg, Johan. (1999) Kvantitativa metoder – för samhällsvetare och humanister. p.135
13 Patel, Runa & Davidson, Bo. (2003) Forskningsmetodikens grunder. Att planera, genomföra och rapportera en undersökning. pp.49-50
14 Bell, Judith. (2005) Introduktion till forskningsmetodik. 4:e uppl. p.158
15 Kvale, Steinar. (1997) Den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun. pp. 148-149
16 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrwq.recorder&hl=sv, downloaded on 2014-03-24
17 Patel & Davidson. p.83
18 Kvale. p.174
19 Patel & Davidson. p.78
20 Kvale. pp.121-122
11
allow a more qualitative discussion, than had the interviewee not been briefed. This meant that the conversation was more fluid and even though the questions were not done in the exact order as they had been written, the subject was entirely covered and dealt with.
After the scheduled interview with Sébastien Mérignargues he also introduced me to their intern Coralie Deschamps, who I afterwards had a short informal interview with as she is there to help them investigate the weak points and what the next step in developing the summer season is. This was unfortunately not recorded and there are just some notes from the interview, these will be taken into account in the results as well. This second interview, as it was not planned, was slightly less structured, but nonetheless gained insight into the matter at hand. In a sense she had a very similar viewpoint to me as the researcher as she is working with the same intent; To understand the summer development up till now, but also to determine how to develop it further. This information was thus very useful, both in understanding what tools Tignes’ are using to assess their situation as well as in gaining another perspective on the research I was undertaking.
2.4 Statistical analysis
A statistical analysis is a quantitative process where one uses statistical models to analyze numerical results. In this study, available material on visitor statistics and progress reports, provided by TD, was used and an analysis have been performed to see how visitors/guests have changed during the development of the summer season in Tignes. These changes mainly include numbers of visits. TD provided two separate documents, “Réunion Economique Publique” from July 2013 and a document, known as “Bilan été” describing the frequentation and key numbers from the summer seasons and its development from 2008 which is when the last “business plan station” was introduced. The facts and numbers from these documents have been identified and extracted for the comparison with the qualitative results obtained. It is important to note that this data is secondary, but there is no way of collecting primary data on past events and therefore these must be deemed to be acceptable and appropriate for the situation as the study’s purpose is to investigate developments up till this point in time.
The found quantitative data will be used in a time series analysis as this is deemed most appropriate for attaining visitor patterns over time periods.21 The statistical analysis thus serves to help answer the research questions; what are the consequences (of the actions taken to develop Tignes) and “how has this affected the number and types of visitors.
The statistical results are especially relevant for the second question; “number of visitors” is a question that is of a numerical value and the correct way to answer it is quantitatively. A statistical analysis of visitors will help visualize the change in resort and further explain the consequences of development. It can help determine the developmental trends and compare different aspects in resort as well as identify key factors. Moreover it can either solidify and support or contradict results from the interview. The correct analysis method must however be used and the data must be presented in a relevant matter for this to be of use to the study.
Below in results I have strived to do just that. Graphs or tables will then also help identify trends in resort development.
The qualitative results found within these same documents will be presented separately and in relation to the other qualitative results from the interview. Compounding all qualitative results is judged to be advantageous over using a separating approach which would make results more fragmental as they would be split into more categories.
21 Eggeby & Söderberg. p.170
12 2.5 Validity and Reliability
Validity and reliability is described by Bell as the 6th phase, known as verification, in an interview study.22 It is by Bell described as two parts of the trinity which also includes generalization.23 Reliability, simplified, is about whether the results will be consistent if the study was performed in the same setting but during two different times. Bell argues that reliability comes into question at two particular stages, during the interview, in terms of leading questions, and during the transcription phase.24 The questions for the interview phase in this study were formed to be very open and allow the subject to give their own answer.
Validity is about whether the results are relevant to what is being investigated and is according to Bell something that is present as a sort of checklist during the entire research process.25 Reliability and validity are important issues that need to be dealt with especially in the transcription phase of the interview.26 The issue will be about performing a correct
transcription of the interview and using a language that will best convey the conversation that took place, Bell implies that including a transcription is vital for transparency.27 The
transcription phase was time consuming but this was deemed necessary for a correct
transcription and was also done close to the time of the interview so that memory would not affect the result.
In terms of the statistical analysis it is important to take into account how the quantitative data was obtained and that this research process was outside of my, the
researcher’s, control. The data was obtained directly from the responsible party but are what they have presented publicly as results and can therefore be said to have fairly high reliability and validity as they could easily be verified by the responsible statistical company.
2.6 Limitations
Limitations with interviews involve the lack of transmission of physical cues such as body language;28 however, given the purpose of the study, I did not judge it to be important to record the interview audiovisually. In the interview I recall using hand gestures to describe a model but this was noted down for future reference and subsequently included in the
transcription phase as to avoid any confusion.
It is furthermore argued that qualitative interviews cannot be objective29 and that objectivity is something to strive for within research. However objectiveness is a very
complex subject and it can also mean to be free from bias. Kvale argues that an interview can be somewhat objective but that in terms of interviews it is primarily an intersubjective
interaction.30 In terms of bias it is also important to try to avoid leading questions as to avoid getting skewed results31, something which was considered in the creation of the interview questions. Other issues with qualitative methods include generalization, which will not be possible as my study is a case study, studying solely the situation in Tignes. Furthermore any comparison with other resorts will only include previous research. Generalization also requires a certain size of data and representability.32 However Kvale questions the need for
22 Bell. p.85
23 Bell. p.207
24 Bell. p.213
25 Bell. p.214
26 Patel & Davidson. pp.150-151
27 Bell. p.166
28 Kvale. p.147
29 Kvale. p.64
30 Kvale. p.66
31 Kvale. p.145
32 Kvale. pp.97-98
13
generalizability with the question “Why is so much weight put on generalizability”33, implying there is also value in studying a unique situation and still finding valid information. This means that there is some value in making a case study such as this even if the conclusions drawn can only be used for the specific situation.
Quantitative methods are limited in the respect that they are “only” numerical, and therefore lack rich data. Analysis was therefore a simplified process of identifying and organizing numbers which on their own did not give much insight to the research question at hand.
Limitations of the quantitative data are that they may also not be 100 percent complete.
Surveys using visitor statistics rarely are and it can be assumed that the same is the case for Tignes. However, considering that the fall out numbers should be fairly consistent, we can still use the numbers to identify trends and the general direction of the development. Another limitation to this study is that the quantitative data is secondary. As primary data cannot be collected one needs to just be aware of the limitations of the data.
2.7 Sample selection and evaluation of sources
The first interview was undertaken with the director of Tignes Développement, Sébastien Mérignargues. Tignes Développement or TD, is the body that manages the resort of Tignes.
This was the most appropriate subject for the interview as he has access to all the information that was sought after and can therefore provide the most comprehensive results. A second shorter, less structured interview was undertaken with Coralie Deschamps, also working for Tignes Développement, and more specifically, with the role of investigating the summer season and its potential.
Choosing to focus on Tignes Développement and not on other stakeholders within the resort was done consciously to get the most reliable and appropriate results. They are the one body which can be said to have had a consistent role in the development and are therefore the most appropriate choice of source for the interview. A limitation is that the results will only show the perspective of one stakeholder.
In terms of the statistical analysis, the data used was also provided by TD. The relevant
numbers were extracted from the documents and put into a coherent and informative form that allows for easy interpretation. The data is secondary but there is no means of collecting
primary data on past events and therefore these must be admissible. This is the case when almost any visitor statistics is used as there are national and regional bodies that are usually responsible for the collection of such. The data used in this study was originally collected by Comète34, a large statistics company within the alpine sector, and the information relevant to Tignes has then been published by Tignes in the documents. The numbers can therefore be seen as very reliable and valid. A personal gathering over several years would be too time consuming and not justifiable considering relevant and valid data already exists.
For the theoretical background many printed sources and published articles have been used and can be considered to have a high reliability which further strengthens the study.
Moreover, the concepts used are very well established within tourism research.
33 Kvale. p.261
34 Tignes Développement. (2013) Réunion Économique Publique. p.4
14 3. Theoretical background
3.1. Seasonality
Seasonality is a concept that is very closely linked with tourism and especially when it comes to traditional winter resorts. Weaver and Lawton define seasonality as the variations in demand over the period over a year, and three different situations can be found: high season, low season and shoulder periods.35 The issue of seasonality is big both in the tourism and sport sector and thus when it comes to sport tourism, the implications can be big. Higham presents McEnnif’s statement that “tourism industry issues arising from seasonality ‘are chiefly concerned with off-peak underutilization of capacity’”36 Furthermore Higham and Hinch present the idea that tourism seasonality has two underlying major groups of causes;
natural and institutional, meaning factors such as weather and climate or cultural and societal factors.37 This is still very much true as peak weeks can be identified within the season and these coincide when major regions have school holidays, a factor which is institutional.38 A period that restricts especially families in terms of availability to travel. Seasonality can thus be said to be an interesting factor that affects tourists, business owners, workers, inhabitants and natural resources. By developing the summer season Tignes is actively trying to change when high and low season as well as shoulder periods occur. Furthermore it develops a season where the resort can increase its income and revenue. As mentioned above, seasonality is linked to climate, and therefore also climate change in some respects. Hill et al. mentions that boosting the percentage share of summer tourism is seen as an adaptive measure needed by winter tourism resorts to counteract the effects of climate change.39 This is supported by Morrison and Pickering who state that development of year-round tourism is an adaptive measure caused by climate change.40 Moen and Fredman mean that this strategy is the most promising out of all strategies to counter climate change and that it is beneficial in terms of reducing seasonality.41 Boosting the summer season also means working with and developing the resort’s attractions.
3.2.1 Attractions and attractiveness
Attractions are what make a destination worthy of a visit. Weaver and Lawton also categorize it as a “pull factor” and mean that having a diversity of attractions is something to strive for.42 Sometimes however, attractions become synonymous with destination.43 It is also said that there is usually a “focal point” or main attraction for visitors.44 For Tignes, the main attraction used to be the Grande Motte glacier but is now the Bike Park or the Sportignes cluster of activities. These have been identified through main marketing strategies.45 Both of these have implications for Tignes as a resort, especially when one considers how Tignes previously has presented itself as outside and unaffected by climatic seasonality by offering skiing, a
35 Weaver, David. & Lawton, Laura. (2006) Tourism Management. Third Edition. p.209
36 Higham, James. & Hinch, Tom. (2001) Tourism, sport and seasons: the challenges and potential of overcoming seasonality in the sport and tourism sectors. p.176
37 Higham & Hinch. p.176
38 Higham & Hinch. p.176
39 Hill, Margot., Wallner, Astrid. & Furtado, Jose. (2010) Reducing vulnerability to climate change in the Swiss Alps: a study of adaptive planning. p.76
40 Morrison, Clare. & Pickering, Catherine M. (2013) Perceptions of climate change impacts, adaptations and limits to adaptation in the Australian Alps: the ski-tourism industry and key stakeholders. p.174
41 Moen, Jon. & Fredman, Peter. (2007) Effects of climate change on alpine skiing in Sweden. p.431
42 Weaver & Lawton. p.129
43 Holloway, Christopher J. (2009) The business of Tourism. Eighth Edition. p.231
44 Holloway. p.234
45 http://www.tignes.net/en/summer-sports/free-and-a-la-carte-activities-252.html, accessed on 2014-05-21
15
traditional winter activity, year round. However, currently it is actually changing and taking a more “traditional/classic” approach by offering what is considered summer activities in the appropriate season. In relations to this it would be interesting for further studies to see how institutionalized seasonality factors are affecting tourism in Tignes.
Attractions make up the one sector that the destination has full control over in terms of getting visitors and successfully developing a resort.46 The offer of attractions and their management is thus very relevant in terms of resort development. Furthermore these attractions can be natural or artificial, meaning that they can be pre-existing or created with the specific intention of attracting visitors. Pre-existing attractions however need to be managed correctly to be considered a tourist attraction.47 Weaver and Lawton stress that just listing attractions for a destination is not enough but it is imperative to assess attraction attributes for proper management. These attributes include things such as ownership, market, status and carrying capacity.48 The management of the attractions can thus be said to be as important as the actual product/attraction itself. Das et al. describe attractions as the major factors influencing attractiveness of a destination.49 Other factors described are customer satisfaction as a measure of attractiveness together with a willingness to recommend it. Kim and Perdue discuss attractiveness as dependent on destination image.50 The same authors continue to explain that destination image becomes the main factor for attractiveness because the tourism product itself is intangible and that people usually lack experience and have limited knowledge of the destination.51 Many factors can thus be said to affect attractiveness and it remains a complex concept.
3.2.2 Attractions as a commercial product
If we choose to see attractions as commercial products one can argue that price is a critical element.52 This is from the standpoint of the concept of the marketing mix, including the elements; product, price, promotion and place.53 A product is defined as “Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or a need. It includes physical objects, services, persons, places, organizations and ideas.”54 The product is the base but needs the other elements to become attractive and in terms of tourist attractions these are determined by management. A link to the gratuity of attractions in Tignes can easily be drawn and is an important point of analysis. One can choose to regard the destination of Tignes as a product in itself made up several different components.
However, it is also possible to regard the specific attractions offered within resort as
individual products which would then provide very specific insight into how each part of the destination is working and whether they are a successful and useful component to the resort as a whole. Tourist attractions together with the tourism industry can also be seen as ‘the tourism product’.55 Holloway argues that selling a touristic product, like an attraction, is like selling a
46 Weaver & Lawton. p.97, 100
47 Weaver & Lawton. pp.100-101
48 Weaver & Lawton. pp.146-147
49 Das, Debadyuti., Sharma, Sushil Kumar., Mohapatra, Pratap K J. & Sarkar, Ashutosh. (2007) Factors influencing the attractiveness of a tourist destination: a case study. p.103
50 Kim, Dohee. & Perdue, Richard R. (2011) The influence of image on destination attractiveness. p.226
51 Kim & Perdue. p.227
52 Weaver & Lawton. p.222
53 Kotler, Philip., Armstrong, Gary., Wong, Veronica. & Saunders, John. (2008) Principles of Marketing. Fifth European Edition. p.49
54 Kotler et al. p.49
55 Weaver & Lawton. p.129
16
dream, as experiences are intangible.56 This aspect is important as not everyone will see perceive the product in the same way. The product thus becomes the experience of the
product rather than the attraction in itself. Given that many attractions in Tignes are outdoors, weather can also be seen as an important factor in the experience of the product. Essentially the goal for Tignes is to create new experiences that can serve to lengthen the high season period over the year, making it less seasonally dependent as mentioned above. Attractiveness is furthermore a factor in determining the number and type of visitors that will choose the resort as their destination.
3.3 Tourist types
Segmentation of tourists is something that remains important to the tourism industry and tourism research and allows destinations to identify their key marketing groups. Segmentation can be done geographically, demographically, psychographically or behaviorally.57 Weaver and Lawton claim that tourists are categorized into four major types primarily; domestic and international, stay overs and excursions.58 However, they do recognize that travel purpose is a main part of what defines a tourist.59 Examples include leisure and recreation and sport tourists. Needham et al.’s study supports the fact that visitors seek out specific activities to fulfill motivations and needs.60 For the basis of the study, geographical, demographical and behavioral aspects are valued above psychographical. Knowing your market is extremely important for resort development in order to choose the appropriate products and further develop the resort to accommodate the needs of these people. If one wishes to expand and attract new markets, the principle remains the same. Knowledge about tourist types and clientele can thus be judged to be a major factor in destination and product development.
During the development of the resort the numbers of tourists also vary as is explained by Butler’s lifecycle model below.
3.4 Destination development lifecycle
The Butler sequence is a well-known, used and applied model within tourism research and is, simplified, an S-shaped curve showing the development of a resort within its lifecycle.61 The different stages are, as based on Weaver and Lawton’s work62;
Exploration
Tourism as an industry is practically non-existent and so is the number of visitors. The stage can be seen as a “pre-tourism” where any visitors must make all arrangements themselves based on what is available in the local community.63
Involvement
During this stage, number of visitors start to increase, as does the efforts within the destination to accommodate them. Tourism is seen as positive and income is increased.64
56 Holloway. p.10
57 Holloway. pp.66-69
58 Weaver & Lawton. p.35
59 Weaver & Lawton. p.29
60 Needham, Mark, D., Wood, Colin J.B., & Rollins, Rick B., (2004) Understanding summer visitors and their experiences at the Whistler Mountain Ski area, Canada. p.239
61 Weaver & Lawton. p.307
62 Weaver & Lawton. pp.308-316
63 Wever & Lawton. pp.308-310
64 Weaver & Lawtn. pp.310-311
17 Development
During this stage a rapid growth can be observed as well as major changes within the resort.
A key factor is for the resort to remain in control of the development.65 Consolidation
This stage involves a decrease in growth rate, however the general trend is still positive.
Tourism exists on a large scale and the economy depends on it. Furthermore, seasonality issues arise.66
Stagnation
Within the stagnation phase peak number of visitors has been reached and there may be too much capacity. The resort can be seen as out of fashion and rely on return visitors.67 Decline or Rejuvenation
Decline happens when resorts fail to attract new or return visitors, or when stakeholders do not try or fail to develop their products.68
Rejuvenation occur when new touristic products are introduced and the destinations image and unique features once again become attractive. This positive development is usually a consequence of proactive planning and strategies. 69
An application of this to already established destinations will put the focus within the consolidation, and thereafter, the stagnation phase. From this point onwards, managerial decisions regarding long term planning will determine the inevitable fate of the destination;
rejuvenation or decline.70 As mentioned above, Weaver suggests that one reason for decline is that stakeholders within the destination do not attempt to revitalize the attractions or touristic products or that these measures fail.71 Rejuvenation is not believed to occur naturally but through a deliberate decision and development process carried out by stakeholders.72 Weaver and Lawton suggest that for ski resorts in general, many are now going through the
consolidation stage and stresses that viability is largely climate dependent, despite artificial snow making.73
However, should an attempt at marketing a resort for its summer attractions be considered a well-established destination or do we indeed need to separate this development completely and look at it as a separate resort from the start? This is interesting in terms of looking at the specific summer development instead of at Tignes as a whole. If we regard the summer specifically, thus respecting the focus and scope of the study, it may be more
appropriate to place Tignes in an earlier stage of development. Holloway stresses that a resort will always benefit from being unique and by offering more benefits rather than being an
‘identikit’ destination and furthermore that this, like the Butler sequence suggest, depends on constant development and rejuvenation.74 Models such as the Butler curve can be useful in terms of explaining the stages of development in resort as these often remain fairly general and can be applied globally.
65 Weaver & Lawton. p.313
66 Weaver & Lawton. p.314
67 Weaver& Lawton. pp.314-315
68 Weaver & Lawton. p.315
69 Weaver & Lawton. p.316
70 Weaver & Lawton. p.315.
71 Weaver & Lawton. p.315
72 Weaver & Lawton. p.316
73 Weaver & Lawton. p.143
74 Holloway. pp.215-216
18 The Butler sequence
Source: Butler (1980)75
The results obtained in the study will help further place Tignes on the curve and determine at which stage in the development they are. This will be done through presenting statistical results as a graph and through the interview where aspects such as growth and development are discussed. The curve can also help predict what Tignes can expect in terms of growth and stagnation, depending on their own actions. The Butler curve, although still somewhat
generalized, remains a measurement tool for development and is therefore still relevant to the development of Tignes as a summer resort.
3.5 Climate change
When discussing development of tourism one cannot exclude climate change as a factor and reason for development. The Butler curve above discusses deliberate actions and their effects but fail to include other factors such as climate that are also affecting tourism potential.
Unfortunately most development is responsive action and not proactive, meaning it is only when the consequences of climate change has been seen that the action to develop or
counteract is taken. A more proactive approach would be recommendable as it allows a longer timescale to implement changes. Several studies involving the Alps, alpine resorts and their future have been done in relation to climate change. Needham et al. also mentioned studies supporting the summer season as a potential offset to effects of climate change on ski areas.76 The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) states that tourism is an
especially climate sensitive sector and furthermore that winter sports tourism is “inherently sensitive to climatic conditions”77 Tignes situation is as mentioned earlier unique in the sense that the glacier has allowed “traditional winter sports tourism” outside of the winter season and therefore what is relevant climatic changes for winter sports tourism is also relevant for summer tourism in Tignes. Tignes, a high altitude resort might however at least initially benefit if lower altitude resorts are affected by climate change and have to reduce opening days, especially in the winter.78 Furthermore, Tignes, like other high altitude resorts in Soboll and Dingeldey’s study, should be manageable in terms of snow availability even in the future.79 Climate change is obvious if one looks at the status of glaciers and their retreat over the last century, including in Tignes. Shijin et al. states the fairly obvious; the retreat of
75 http://www.hotelmule.com/management/attachments/2010/07/26_201007120616002WInG.gif, accessed on 2014-03-14
76 Needham et al. p.234
77 Soboll, Anja & Dingeldey, Alexander. (2012) The future impact of climate change on Alpine winter tourism: a high-resolution simulation system in the German and Austrian Alps. p.101
78 Soboll & Dingeldey. p.109
79 Soboll & Dingeldey. p.115
19
glaciers also has an effect on glacier tourism.80 It is important to note that Tignes is not excluded from climate change but in terms of attractiveness for tourism and future potential, Tignes can still be considered in a favorable position, for all seasons, if one is to draw any conclusions from previously mentioned research. Moreover a few studies have been done in relation to these subjects and are therefore relevant to mention.
3.6 Previous studies
Previous studies focusing on summer development include studies such as “Vintersportorten - året runt”, a project under ETOUR, European Tourism Research Institute”.81 This study serves to give light to especially Åre, and its development from a winter resort to an all year round attraction. The study has compared the development to other resorts such as Whistler, Ischgl and Oppdal. Furthermore it highlights different factors that they have identified as common factors for success from the different resorts. These include vision, organization, ownership structure, activities, market, brand, company cultures, natural resources and
cultural heritage82. In this study parallels can be drawn to how Tignes has been developed and the success factors are similar and thus further support how Tignes worked with the summer season so far. The authors further agree that number of visitor nights spent and especially the increase of such as well as using the resorts capacity is an important indicator of success.83 This supports the need for a quantitative aspect when it comes to measuring the level of success in development of a resort, which is in accordance with this study.
Another study regarding the development of a summer season in a traditional winter resort has been carried out by Linda Harkman.84 The purpose of which was to carry out a case study to investigate Sälen’s potential for development of a summer season and to become a
functioning year-round resort. Harkman’s study includes a brief comparison with other resorts to be able to compare and evaluate Sälen in terms of current summer activities, strategies for future development, key stakeholders, target groups and marketing. Harkman concludes that Sälen sets itself apart by having a separate group responsible for only summer tourism. This is a contrast to Tignes which has one organization that is responsible for resort management.
Furthermore Harkman mentions success factors in other resorts such as Idre where one has managed to attract high profile athletes and thus improving the image of the resort.85 The same strategy is being employed in Tignes. Harkman also discusses the issue of branding and like the above study mentioned, concludes that it is an advantage of having a strong winter brand to benefit from, but that it can also be hard to integrate new attractions into an already existing brand.86
80 Shijin, Wang., Yuanqing, He. & Xiaodong, Song. (2010) Impacts of climate warming on alpine glacier tourism and adaptive measures: a case study of Baishui Glacier No.1 in Yulong Snow Mountain, Southwestern China. p.167
81 Flagestad et al. Vintersportorten – året runt.
82 Flagestad et al. pp.6-7
83 Flagestad et al. p.9
84 Harkman. Det gröna sälen.
85 Harkman. p.29
86 Harkman. p.28,30
20 4. Results
4.1 Results from interview and other qualitative results
These results include the qualitative results from the interview as well as important facts and statements taken from the same documents that have been used for extraction of statistical results. These have been separated from the quantitative results as to provide a clearer overview. These facts and information include long term strategy regarding investments and budgetary allocations as well as other information that is relevant to the content discussed in the interview.
The interview confirmed that what prompted the development of the summer season was that the glacier was no longer skiable all year due to climate changes and that one needed to make the decision whether Tignes should go for a limited one season approach or to keep the
summer season but in a different format. Through the interview, a key action was identified as a start to the development; the politicians at the time decided in favor of the summer season when faced with the decision of stopping it in its current form or to change it. This was at the start of the 2000s. As in many other places the decision was probably taken in a later stage than it should have as one did not react until the effect of climate change on the glacier was noticeable.
Through the development the image of Tignes has changed as well from being focused on skiing to a more traditional summer program, but with certain unique features such as gratuity and innovation in regards to new activities or attractions. A focus on the change was also put in place by hosting international Beach soccer events which clearly was not a part of Tignes’
previous image. TD also notes how gratuity is replacing skiing as the differential/unique factor for Tignes.
The development since have followed multi-year plans that have been carefully put together and implemented step by step. In short below, the implementations which were a part of the latest business plan for the resort (2009-2013)
2009: free carte Sportignes 2010: free bike park and lifts 2011: free lifts for pedestrians 2012-2014: consolidation of offer87
Before this, the bike park existed but in a paying form, as did the carte Sportignes. From the start of the development about 2002, one developed infrastructures such as the Lagon, the sport beach and football fields. A side note is that the tourism income in 2012, with free activities is 12000€ less than in 2008 which was the last summer that the carte Sportignes was not free.88
The strategy for the products and Tignes as a resort was clear and Tignes wanted to create a versatile and varied offer of activities, which were free. The strategy was to move away from the one-attraction setup and thus become less dependable on it. Furthermore, one really strong attraction, equivalent to that of skiing would be hard to create. Creating a wide and therefore strong array of activities to choose from was seen as the solution. However, the strategy was to first develop the product to attain a certain value and then add a supplementary value to it
87 Tignes Développement. Bilan été. p.107
88 TD. Réunion Économique. p.31
21
by making it free using the thesis that “A gift is not really a gift if it’s not worth anything”89 The strategy of diversifying was made possible to some extent due to the natural resources that do exist in Tignes, such as the lake, which is an asset that not many alpine resorts have.
Other attractions, such as the bike park are also dependent on the natural resources.
There is an awareness that Tignes is now still growing in the summer due to constant renewal and a well-developed plan and that this can change if one stops. They regard staying dynamic as a vital point to a continued success and realize that even if the growth rate now slows down the resort will still be doing well, especially compared to other resorts. Other points of
development are seen as summer events, golf and disabled sports. To gain an outside perspective and investigate weak aspects and points of development a student on a trainee program, an intern, has been employed.
The success of the long-term strategy can be clearly seen in a comparison with Val d’Isère who was forced to make their bike park free when Tignes did so, as the two resorts are linked, but they however lacked the background development to make this move.
Out of the 110 000 people using the bike park in 2013, 85 000 come from Tignes. A clear long term strategy with part time goals can thus be seen as important.
There is also a belief that the summer season is allowed to exist within its current form with a strong focus on the product, which also takes the main part of the budget, about 70 percent because the winter season is so strong and consequently Tignes as a brand, which they take advantage of in the summer. Only 20 and 10 percent respectively is spent on animations/small events and communication/marketing. TD decided in the business plan for 2003-2008 to treat Tignes as a brand instead of as a product leader, meaning a change of focus away from product qualities and creating a brand that has an added intrinsic value to it.90 The brand focus, or what sets Tignes apart in the summer, has now changed from skiing to free
activities. A point for the future is to find the correct mix of events and product focus as it is believed that none could exist successfully without the other. As of right now it is recognized that there is no major event in the summer, only larger animations during the weeks.
Visitors to Tignes in the summer used to be 80 percent skiers, something which was
considered a mono-culture, another term for a single attraction destination. After the current developments there are only 10 percent of people who ski, which is an important change, even when considering that the number of visitors have gone up by 36 percent in the last 6 years. In terms of visitors there are, like the activities, a wider variety of types of tourists in terms of interests, age etc. This is a contrast to the winter when the stereotypical ski tourist is still very strong. Targeting several smaller markets through different attractions has created a larger tourist base and visitor potential. By changing and expanding the activities and
investing in infrastructures they have been able to attract new groups of tourists/markets to the resort, such as high level athletes and downhill bikers. A difference between the summer and the winter season is that the typical winter tourist is more stereotypical whereas there are more different types of tourists in the summer, more diversity.
4.2 Statistical results
The results found from the documents provided by TD are presented below in graphical form accompanied by an explanatory text.
89 Interview Sebastien Mérignargues, Tignes Développement. 2014-03-13. Author’s translation, see appendix 9.1.
90 TD. Bilan été. p.52
22
The visitor statistics have been collected by the company Comète which is independent and deals with statistics from resorts all over the Alps.91
It has been noted that the statistics regarding visitors is less detailed than in the winter period where more information is gathered. The summer period is thus only explained in number of total visitors. The statistics go back to 2008.
The most relevant method of analysis for this data will be a time series analysis as described by Eggeby and Söderberg.92 The analysis will include a breakdown to index which will facilitate the comparison of values as well as defining trendlines for the data. This analysis is of use when two factors in relation to each other need to be compared in development over time. How the time series analysis and the calculations have been done is explained more thoroughly below.
4.2.1 General statistics overview
Table 1. Developments within the summer season
Source: Tignes Développement. Réunion Économique Publique and Tignes Développement.
Bilan été 2013
91 TD. Réunion Économique Publique. p.4
92 Eggeby & Söderberg. p.170 0
50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 300000 350000 400000
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Frequentation
Developments within the summer
season
Number of nights
Stays
Carte Sportignes distribution
Carte Sportignes users
Bike park users
Pedestrians using lifts
23 Table 2. Tignes visitor statistics
Source: Tignes Développement. Réunion Économique Publique and Tignes Développement.
Bilan été 2013.
Comments on statistics above:
- The number of nights and numbers of stays correspond. Stays are multiplied by 6 to reach the total number of nights as this is the standard amount of days.
- Highlighted numbers in the table are specific numbers mentioned in the documents, the others have been calculated to an approximation from a percentage graph displayed in the document.
- The numbers also appear to have been rounded off in the documents, from which they have been extracted, which may skew results slightly.
- Below the number is the percentage increase using the start year for each category as 100 percent.
Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Number of nights 259500 264690 316590 324378 331800 352200
100% 102% 122% 125% 128% 136%
Stays 43250 44115 52765 54063 55300 58700
100% 102% 122% 125% 128% 136%
Carte Sportignes users 24700 50200 69700 101500 125900 132000
100% 203% 282% 411% 510% 534%
Carte Sportignes distribution 1500 18000 25000 27000 32200 36100
100% 1200% 1667% 1800% 2147% 2407%
Bike park users 23600 55800 80000 100000 111000
100% 236% 339% 424% 470%
Pedestrians using lifts 15000 23600 33400 35000
100% 157% 223% 233%
24
4.2.2 Tignes’ development compared to other resorts.
Other important numbers include the comparison of Tignes’ development compared to other alpine resorts in France which represent their main competitors. This is one way that success is often measured. Below is a representation of Tignes’ development in relation to the mean development of other resorts. This already includes a calculation using time series analysis and index numbers. However to further clarify these trends a graph using trendlines has been added. For this part index numbers already existed.
Table 3. Tignes vs. other resorts
Source: Tignes Développement. Bilan été.
Table 4. Time series analysis: Tignes vs. other alpine resorts
Comments: Tignes has compared to the average alpine resort had a very different
development over the past couple of years, showing that there is likely to be one or several factors that differentiate the resort from its competitors.
80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Index
Tignes vs other alpine resorts
Tignes index
General development alpine resorts index
Trendline Tignes
Trendline general alpine resorts development
25 4.2.3 Bike park statistics
The first complete time series analysis includes a comparison between the increase in number of visitors and the increase in number of people using the bike park as this has been deemed to be the main attraction. The base year is thus set to be 2009 as data is not available before that. The index for 2009 is thus 100. The index is thereafter calculated using by dividing the value of year x with the value of 2009 and then multiplying by a 100.93
Index = (value year x/ value year2009) *100 The calculations give the following table:
Table 5. Index calculation Bikepark vs. visitors
Year Bikepark Index Visitors Index 2009 23600 100 264690 100 2010 55800 236 316590 120 2011 80000 339 324378 123 2012 100000 424 331800 125 2013 111000 470 352200 135
Source: Tignes Développement. Bilan été 2013 and Tignes Développement. Réunion Économique Publique.
This gives a graph with the following result:
Table 6. Time series analysis: Bike park vs. general number of visitors
Comments: Shown on the graph is also the trendline which gives displays the mean increase in the same timeline. From this graph it is abundantly clear that the bike park represents a major increase compared to the total number of visitors and therefore reinforces its status as the main summer attraction and a large factor in the summer development process. One weakness with the Bike Park data is that it includes data from Val d’Isère. This is a limitation that needs to be noted as the Bike Park is an activity offered by Tignes and Val d’Isère
93 Eggeby & Söderberg, p.173 0
100 200 300 400 500 600
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Index
Bikepark vs. general number of visitors
Bikepark index Visitor index Trendline Bikepark Trendline visitors
