France still the number one skiing destination

For another ski season, France is still king of the hill when it comes to its tallied number of skier and snowboarder visitors with 57.9 million, compared to 56.6 million visits in the USA. A great snow year helped the French ski industry retain its leadership one more year. I couldn't find the exact number for Austria, number three, at about 50 million.

France's impressive lift network has been, and remains largely financed, by government agencies as opposed to the private funding that prevails in America. Even though 2012/2013 wasn't a record breaking season, snow sports remain popular and quite insulated from economic ups and downs that don't seem to affect its affluent clientele...