From 2 to 15 February 2009, Val d’Isère will host the World Downhill Ski Championships, the last major international sporting event to be organised in France before the eagerly awaited decision to choose the host of the 2016 European Football Championships or the 2018 Winter Olympics. Which means that it is an event not to be missed, especially since the Avalins have promised to go to town on the organisation to make up for the equivocations experienced during the summer of 2007.

Companies looking to reward their hard-working senior executives, clients or suppliers with a trip to Val during one of the competitions, can call on the services of the Front de Neige agency, based in Saint-Genis-Laval, which has the exclusive commercial marketing rights to the competition and small businesses packages. Benoît Fritsch, whose father was in charge of the resort’s Club des Sports for many years, is a native of Val d’Isère and heads up the agency, explaining:

Considering the various accommodation problems in the village during the World Championships, our packages are really ideal for companies based in the Rhône-Alpes because we’re only looking at day excursions. They are for groups of eight people or more and the cost of 690 € per participant includes private coach or minibus transfer from the town of departure, a welcome present, hostesses on hand to help during the day, lunch in the VIP tent and access to the VIP box. Various options are on offer: skiing, other winter sports activities and a meeting with a member of the French team. We start marketing our product in mid-October and we’ve already had several requests .

Front de Neige began business in 1992 – originally called Traces International, it was bought by Media Partner and changed its name in 2004 when this company was taken over by German sports marketing agency Infronts – and has worked in sports marketing, event organisation in winter sports resorts and incoming business.

For sports marketing, which makes up 35 to 40% of our business, we’re consultants for Infronts and we work in particular with Milka, the Banque Populaire, Fila and Riches Monts, explains Benoît Fritsch. Our event organising also makes up 35 to 40% of our business, and we’re heavily involved in organising the Piste Mauve for Milka, which is a fun, educational ski trail exploring the fauna and flora of the Alps and which is set up throughout the winter season in nine resorts: Val d’Isère, Les Arcs, La Plagne, La Clusaz, Les Gets, Châtel, l’Alpe d’Huez, Orcières 1850 and Pra-Loup. And last but not least, our incoming business handles the travel arrangements during big competitions as well as resort-based seminars, such as for Aoste in Méribel last winter. Most of our business is linked to ski competitions and we work throughout the European Alps…