Europe’s highest ski resort, Val Thorens in France, has been named the world’s best ski resort for the third time, just a week before its official opening of the season. It is a big boost for Val Thorens, which was momentarily knocked off its perch last year when the title went to Austrian ski resort Kitzbuehel. But at the fourth edition of the World Ski Awards which was held over the weekend, the mythic ski destination reclaimed its crown thanks to continued efforts to innovate and diversify their offerings, organizers say. In 2011, for example, the French resort was the first to equip the ski area with free wifi. Winners of the awards are determined by votes cast by leaders in the ski industry such as senior executives, travel buyers, tour operators, agents, the media and the general public. For the 2016 edition, about 1.6 million votes were cast online from 85 different countries. While Val Thorens took the biggest award of the night, resorts across Europe, Canada, Japan and the Middle East took a few world awards as well this year.
