Good to know
Good to Know
- Courchevel's permanent population is tiny (~2,275–2,290 residents), with over 85% of housing classed as secondary residences. The 'real population' swells during ski season to up to 15× the base, making visitor demographics far more relevant than permanent ones.
- The resort's traditional British and Russian clientele has been steadily replaced by Gulf Arabs (UAE, Saudi Arabia) and emerging Indian luxury travelers since ~2022. Middle Eastern visitors now represent ~16% of international traffic and are the fastest-growing segment.
- There is no documented tech scene, startup ecosystem, or permanent expat business community here. Employment is almost entirely in tourism, hospitality, and seasonal mountain services.
- The stable 13.7% primary-residence rate and low permanent unemployment (2.2%) reflect a service economy dependent on seasonal tourism and wealthy property-owners.
- If seeking a permanent expat community, business networking, or remote-work infrastructure: Courchevel is not suited to those needs. For seasonal luxury tourism or ski-season stays, it remains exclusive and internationally oriented.
Expat Community
- Status
- Not established
- Note
- No documented expat clubs, business networking groups, or formal expat community. Courchevel is a short-stay seasonal destination with transient affluent clientele rather than a permanent expat settlement.
Population Total
- Value
- 2275
- Source Year
- 2026
- Note
- Estimated; official 2023 census data reported 2,290 residents (2025)
Foreign Born Percentage
- Status
- unavailable
- Note
- INSEE suppresses detailed demographic breakdowns for communes near or below 2,000 main-residence households; Courchevel's small permanent population places it below publication thresholds for foreign-born statistics
Business And Tech Presence
- Status
- Minimal documented
- Note
- No identified tech hub, startup ecosystem, or dedicated expat business community. Courchevel is primarily a seasonal luxury tourism and hospitality destination.
Infrastructure
- Fiber Coverage
- FTTH (fiber-to-home) available
- Note
- Sufficient for remote work but community is oriented toward tourism rather than tech or knowledge work
Economic Profile
- Primary Sectors
- Tourism, hospitality, luxury retail, ski operations, mountain services
- Active Establishments
- 1805
- Median Annual Income Per Establishment
- €22,376
10.8% above national average
Employment Profile
- Unemployment Rate
- 2.2% (well below national average of 8%)
- Note
- Low unemployment reflects seasonal employment in tourism and hospitality; primarily service-sector jobs
Population Characteristics
- Population Swing
- Expands up to 15x during high ski season from ~2,400 base residents
- Primary Residences
- 13.7% of housing stock
- Secondary Residences
- 85.2% of housing stock
- Year Round Population
- Stable core with seasonal fluctuation—described as having a stable year-round population that swells with seasonal workers and tourists
Visitor Nationalities Dominant
- Note
- Visitor/seasonal clientele composition (not permanent residents)
Distribution
French
- Proportion
- ~40% of clientele (2021–2022 season)
- Note
- Traditional domestic market
British
- Proportion
- ~30–40% of international visitors
- Note
- Second-largest market historically; traditionally 40% of international visitors and 30% of resort clientele overall (2021 data)
Middle East (Gulf)
- Proportion
- 16% of total international visitors (2021–2022); growing segment
- Note
- Fastest-growing market; replacing Russian oligarch clientele post-2022; described as competing for third-most-important spot after French and British markets
Breakdown
UAE
- Percentage
- 10.5% of international visitors
Saudi Arabia
- Percentage
- 2.7% of international visitors
Russian
- Proportion
- ~8% of international visitors (2020–2021); declining post-2022
- Note
- Historically significant; now substantially reduced
Indian
- Proportion
- Emerging; ~50% increase post-COVID (2023+)
- Note
- Now listed as a 'promising market' alongside Middle East; resort targeting 5% of total nights sold within five years; typical Indian visitors aged 30–50, stay 6–7 nights
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this local demographics research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Courchevel
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.