Revue De Géographie Alpine, 100-3 | 2012 the Structure of the White Water Sports Market in the French Alps 2
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Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine 100-3 | 2012 L’émergence des marchés du sport et du loisir dans l’arc alpin The structure of the white water sports market in the French Alps The case of the Ubaye Valley Antoine Marsac Édition électronique URL : http://journals.openedition.org/rga/1930 DOI : 10.4000/rga.1930 ISSN : 1760-7426 Éditeur Association pour la diffusion de la recherche alpine Référence électronique Antoine Marsac, « The structure of the white water sports market in the French Alps », Revue de Géographie Alpine | Journal of Alpine Research [En ligne], 100-3 | 2012, mis en ligne le 08 mars 2013, consulté le 01 mai 2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/rga/1930 ; DOI : 10.4000/rga.1930 Ce document a été généré automatiquement le 1 mai 2019. La Revue de Géographie Alpine est mise à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution - Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale - Pas de Modification 4.0 International. The structure of the white water sports market in the French Alps 1 The structure of the white water sports market in the French Alps The case of the Ubaye Valley Antoine Marsac NOTE DE L’ÉDITEUR The author would like to thank the Communauté de Communes de la Vallée de l’Ubaye for its assistance. 1 White water sports (canoeing, rafting, tubing1 and swimming) are just some of the activities that have developed in the Alps over the last thirty years (AFIT, 2004). They involve the sport of descending a water course in areas where the torrent of water flows at high speed over a congested river bed. However, these activities remain many, varied and ill defined, and the definition of white water sports (Mounet, 2000) often includes canyoning, which requires a different approach to the environment, using rope techniques. White water sports include the use of equipment, giving people the chance to explore gorges that are inaccessible on foot. This applies to the Ubaye River, which flows through a narrow valley between the Queyras in the north and the Mercantour in the south. The water course that gave its name to the area is presented as “wild” by guides and visitors who use it. 2 This article aims not so much to give a history of white water sports in the Ubaye Valley as to demonstrate how the activities contribute to tourism there through the development of a market. We analyse this development, reconstructing the processes behind the emergence of sports activities in an area of the Alps that has barely been studied. To fill this gap, we consider here how the market was created through the development of commercial white water sports activities. Which conditions led to the emergence of these sports in the Ubaye Valley? Which processes are at work in the creation of the offering in the Valley? Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine, 100-3 | 2012 The structure of the white water sports market in the French Alps 2 3 To answer these questions, we analyse data from the archives of the Canoe Club, the first nautical society created in Paris in 1904, and articles taken from the specialist press ( Canoë-kayak Magazine (CKM), the only publication still published France). We will assess this body of information in order to trace back the interaction between the various players in the white water sports market. This will enable us to establish the relationships between the development of rafting companies in the Ubaye Valley and the emergence of an offering focused on sports tourism based on the river torrent. We will cross-reference these sources with contributions from stakeholders who have worked to structure the market (company managers and guides). We have used an interview grid to survey company founders on how they developed. In order to analyse the context in which development occurred, we first need to give a description of the Ubaye Valley, the surrounding area and the specific aspects of the river torrent where the sports are carried out. The Ubaye is a mountain valley in the North East region of the Alpes de Haute-Provence covering fourteen areas between the periphery of Gap and the Italian border. It has a population of only 8,000 living along the valley floor, on high escarpments and Alpine meadows far from the tourist hotspots of Provence. There are few facilities2, apart from the ski resorts, meaning that the ecosystem of this area over one hundred km from Nice has been preserved. The water course is an Alpine river torrent congested at the lower end, with a considerable drop in altitude and a current that is good for navigation. The main feature of the river torrent is that it is not blocked by artificial dams. The Ubaye exhibits a nival regime, meaning that flow is strong in spring and sustained in summer. Water levels remain relatively constant, meaning that navigation is possible over both seasons. With 52 kilometres of rapids, the route is exceptional for France, given that barrages have been built elsewhere in recent decades, resulting in artificial water courses. Figure 1. The route of the Ubaye Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine, 100-3 | 2012 The structure of the white water sports market in the French Alps 3 4 We will use the case of rafting to illustrate our submission, as it provides an insight into the interaction between market players and regional dynamics. This issue makes reference to work on the impact of this activity on the area (Mounet, 1994), mainly focusing on the involvement of players in the tourist sector at local level. As an addition to the approach, we will also employ regional images and resources (Gumuchian and Pecqueur, 2007) from research on the development of sport in the Valley (Marsac, 2006). 5 The study will be structured around three periods running from between the wars to the decade beginning 2010. We will describe how the tourist offering started out, followed by the emergence of sports facilities, finally looking at the development of the market and its products. The “Pioneer” Era (1935-1970) 6 Since the first half of the 20th century, canoeing and kayaking have proved to be two distinct activities enabling tourists to explore river torrents. The inter-war period is seen to be a period favouring the rise of tourism. Geographer François Arnaud3 was the first to promote tourism in the Ubaye Valley, but canoe enthusiasts, whom we have called the “Pioneers”, have also spent time in the valley since 1935. River trips made by Paris members of the Canoë Club linked to the Touring Club de France (TCF) provide a good model for the activity. From 1932, a network set up by the TCF set out to equip sites in the Alps. Locations for entering and exiting the water are identified in specialist tourist guides4. But how have the activities of enthusiasts influenced the structuring of the sports offering in the Ubaye Valley? 7 Back in 1939, the “Pioneers” started staying in Barcelonnette, then the Sous-Préfecture des Basses-Alpes5. There is a link between their activities and the first tourist products to emerge. Weeks organised by campers and accommodation networks (Bertho-Lavenir, 1999) were the first examples of sports holidays run by the TCF in the Ubaye Valley. This kind of accommodation met the expectations of canoeists from Paris, who based their activities on the ideal of free exploration of nature. 8 Ever since they began exploring the river torrent, the valley has been seen as a Parisian “fiefdom”. But for around fifty years, it has not been possible to go down the whole of the Ubaye, as the Lauzet Gorge is impassable due to the extreme force of the water. This is because flow through the Ubaye is subject to high water levels. The middle and lower sections of the river torrent are very difficult6 because the current can be very dangerous. After a storm, the river bed changes and the black water picks up shale. 9 At the end of the Second World War, the Ubaye was included in a survey of navigable rivers. The TCF set up a classification system for top tourist destinations. This river torrent actually features as a major destination in guides because is promoted as a “must- do trip”7 for anyone armed with a paddle. In 1952, authors described it as “wild – its banks are edged by forest with fantastic flora”8. This image made it famous among Paris clubs and the Kayak Club de France. In April 1960, the “dark waters”9 were amazing. The top sports terms are used to describe the challenges of this water course: “in the most demanding section, navigation becomes quite strenuous “10. For the “Pioneers” making their first descent of the Lauzet Gorge11, the river torrent is a well-known sporting challenge, as navigation there is recognised as a “serious sport”12. This means that the obstacles generating the movements in the water are part of the rich environment. At Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine, 100-3 | 2012 The structure of the white water sports market in the French Alps 4 that time, the way the canoeists unravelled the challenges became the essence of a tourist pursuit: descending the river and camping wild. 10 This was the period when activities were developed. Those involved linked it to sporting tradition and facilities, but without developing an actual market. A connection arose between the reputation of the Ubaye Valley and the emergence of the tourist offering. The various players therefore needed to adopt a specific approach to address business activity.