France's mountain resorts recorded an uptick in visitors during the summer of 2019, Jean-Pierre Rougeaux, secretary general of France's National Association of Mayors of Mountain Resorts, said at the recent Sport Achat trade show in Lyon. Mountain resorts recorded an average occupancy rate of more than 60 percent overall during the recent summer season, corresponding to an increase in attendance of more than 4 percent compared with the 2018 season, Rougeaux said. Attendance during the last two weeks of August is forecast to increase by more than 10 percent, he added. This increase is born out in statistics from G2A Consulting, which found that tourists are heading to the mountains later than usual in the summer, with resorts seeing mainly a decrease in attendance in July followed by a rise in visitors throughout August. Resorts located at an average altitude of 650 to 1,250 meters experienced a marked increase in attendance of 3.6 percent, according to G2A Consulting. French sporting goods stores likewise benefited the rising popularity of mountain resorts, according to a survey conducted by Union Sport & Cycle, the French sporting goods industry association.