Val Thorens in the French Alps was named as the “best ski resort in the world” for the eighth time in 11 years at the annual World Ski Awards. The highest ski resort in Europe at 2,300m, Val Thorens is part of Les 3 Vallées, the world’s largest interconnected ski area with 600km of pistes and 162 lifts.
Vincent Lalanne, director of Val Thorens Tourist Office, said: “This award represents the hard work of all resort staff whom I would like to salute for their involvement, teamwork and imagination. We’re very proud to win again and I would like to thank our customers from all over the world for their unfailing support. We’re dedicated to delivering excellence and continually developing the resort to ensure a fantastic holiday experience for everyone.”
Val Thorens celebrated its 50th anniversary last season and this year has opened early due to the significant early snowfall. It opened the €40 million Le Board sports, wellness and business centre which is a marquee new development right in the heart of the village. Other major investments include two new state-of-the art lifts linking Val Thorens with Orelle which are now in operation in both winter and summer. Last season, a Perspex tunnel was built so that foot passengers even avoid getting their feet wet as they travel between the resorts.
World Ski Awards 2023: the winners
Launched in 2013, the World Ski Awards aims to drive up standards in the ski tourism industry by rewarding the organisations that are leaders in their field. Votes are cast by ski industry professionals (senior executives, travel buyers, tour operators and media) and by the public (ski tourism consumers) in a range of categories. World Ski Awards is the sister organisation of World Travel Awards currently celebrating its 30th anniversary.
The big winners at the World Ski Awards in 2023 were:
- World’s Best Ski Resort 2023: Val Thorens (France)
- World’s Best Freestyle Resort 2023: LAAX (Switzerland)
- World’s Best Ski Hotel 2023: W Verbier (Switzerland)
- World’s Best New Ski Hotel 2023: Setsu Niseko (Japan)
- World’s Best Green Ski Hotel 2023: rocksresort (Switzerland)
- World’s Best Ski Boutique Hotel 2023: HakuVillas (Japan)
- World’s Best Ski Chalet 2023: Chalet Zermatt Peak (Switzerland)
- World’s Best New Ski Chalet 2023: Etoile du Nord – East Wing (France)
- World’s Best Ski Resort Company 2023: Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel (Austria)
- World’s Best Ski Resort Group 2023: Compagnie des Alpes (France)
- World’s Best Indoor Ski Resort 2023: Ski Dubai (UAE)
- World’s Best Ski Tour Operator 2023: Sunweb
- World’s Best Ski Travel Agent 2023: Leo Trippi
- World’s Best Heli-Ski Operator 2023: Northern Escape Heli-Skiing (Canada)
- World’s Best Ski Transfer Operator 2023: Snow Cab
Images: Val Thorens in Les 3 Vallées (les3vallees.com)