The French Alps have always been famous for being beautiful snow-capped mountains, and even more so during ski season. Featuring both bunny slopes and expert trails, the French Alps see many visitors during ski season, including celebrities and, earlier this year, the English royal family, lead by Prince William and Cate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, followed by their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Despite the beautiful holiday the royal family enjoyed, many skiing enthusiasts were disappointed the year prior, as many of them were not able to ski the famous slopes. Caused by uncooperative weather and lower snowfall rates, the United States snagged first place for best skiing weather from France that season.
"The larger stations did OK, but the smaller and middle-sized resorts didn't come out of it so well," Marie Tissier, spokeswoman for Domaines Skiables de France (DSF) tells The Guardian.
"The problem was basically the weather, and that's out of our hands. What we need this year is more snow earlier," she adds.
This is very important for France as the country has more than 357 resorts - just under nine percent of the world's share - and winter sports account for around 18 percent of France's tourist economy, according to the Franco-British chamber of commerce.
Many forecasters, however, are already predicting a great ski season for Europe. According to Travel and Leisure, a meteorologist in Germany said this winter could be the coldest European winter in a century.
Despite many meteorologists' disbelief, and counter statements that this winter will likely be mild, the weather is still expected to be better than last time, colder than average, and promising thicker snowfall. A French meteorologist claims that this season, Europe is to expect 30 percent heavier snowfall and rain.
January is the recommended date for those wanting to book ski trips, but for the more cautious, France's official weather reports come out late November, so most bookings are expected to peak after the announcement.
Click here for the Travelers Today guide to Budget Hacks For Your Winter Ski Holiday.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
