Having decided to establish itself in Europe, the Canadian group Intrawest (one of the main developers in the recreational property market in North America) settled on the Savoie resort of Les Arcs, or more specifically Arc 1950, as its preferred site – in the perfect setting, facing Mont Blanc. With the intention of creating a genuine American-style resort , work began in June 2002 and was completed at the end of 2007 with the official opening of the village in mid-December.

Arc 1950′s wide ranging facilities and location make it unique. It has eight four star residences offering 3896 beds (shared between 698 apartments), 750 underground parking spaces, ten restaurants, 25 shops, a ski school, a children’s club, indoor and outdoor heated pools, a sauna, a steam room, gyms, yoga room and… seven meeting rooms! The latest one of these to be operational, since the beginning of the winter season, measures 485 m². It can hold groups of 250 people for a meal or 400 for a meeting – an excellent attraction for the business tourism industry. An added bonus is that the room is located right next door to the Radisson’s restaurant, which makes event organising much easier.

All of this highlights the fact that the developers have decided to focus on business tourism, with the support of the two accommodation providers on site: Radisson and Intrawest Resorts et Résidences. We’ve been successful in filling the last two weeks of January with four meetings per week involving largely pharmaceutical companies, outlines Sophie Chouette, Marketing & PR manager. And in June, we’re going to host 800 people from the Précom company. We’re open from mid-December through to 27 April and from 5 July to 30 August. However, should one of our clients require different dates, as was the case for Précom, because we’re a private concern we can open earlier or later. In fact, if clients want to take over the whole village they can do so – the fact that the site is entirely privately owned means that we can be entirely flexible!

In Arc 1950, 80% of the business tourism is French, half of which are local clients, and 20% international, largely from the UK and Scandinavia. Most of the meetings last three days, with on average 30 participants for the smallest events and 250 for the largest. Half-board rates, including drinks, range from 167 to 260 euros per person in the winter depending on the type of accommodation chosen and from 111 to 192 euros during the summer. Rates include the work element as well as room hire, refreshment breaks and lunch.