Mountain Planet Showcases New Territories For Skiing And Urban Mobility
From Kyrgyzstan to India: New territories for skiing and urban mobility are redrawing the maps of the global market for mountain infrastructure and cable car technology.
While European ski resorts continue to invest to support year-round mountain development – such as the French ski resorts, which invested a total of €568 million* in 2024, representing 34% of their net revenue – mountain infrastructure and cable car companies are increasingly looking to more distant opportunities. Although the geopolitical and climatic situation in some parts of the world has reshaped the landscape, new markets are opening up: for equipping new ski resorts, developing year-round tourism, and urban or tourist cable car systems – sometimes in unexpected destinations.
The Mountain Planet trade fair is embarking on a global tour of these "emergent" countries, showcasing selected projects from leading players. Before examining global trends and opportunities, let's first take a look at France: Following Brest, Toulouse, and most recently Ajaccio, Créteil is the fourth French city with an urban cable car system. Called Câble C1, the first urban cable car project in the Île-de-France region opened on December 13, 2025, between Créteil and Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. Since its commissioning, the region's first urban cable car has enjoyed great popularity and is transforming the daily lives of thousands of residents in the Val-de-Marne department. The journey time between Créteil and Villeneuve-Saint-Georges is now 18 minutes by gondola, compared to the previous 40 minutes by bus. A cabin departs every 30 seconds, with an expected capacity of 11,000 passengers per day. The system is manufactured by Doppelmayr France, a subsidiary of the Austrian Doppelmayr-Garaventa Group.
Laurent Vanat, international expert on the economics of ski resorts and author of the World Report on Snow and Mountain Tourism, which annually analyzes the state of skiing worldwide, shares his assessment of global market trends in the skiing, tourism and urban sectors:
"Fewer new ski resorts are being built – or they are being built in China, where equipment is now produced locally, and in Russia, where Western suppliers are excluded. In emerging countries (and elsewhere), there is an increasing focus on urban or tourism projects to prepare for the future."
On April 21, 2026, at 10 a.m., Laurent Vanat will present his new annual report on the global ski market for the first time at the opening of the Mountain Planet trade fair (www.mountain-planet.com).
Resilience of Actors
Political instabilities and climate change underline the adaptability of companies in the mountain infrastructure sector
“After the unprecedented Covid crisis and the 2021 municipal elections, investments were postponed, but in 2025-2026 we are now seeing a significant upswing in all projects. The French market is extremely mature,” explains Mehdi Caillis, Director of Public Affairs and Urban Transport at the French company MND .
"As part of our new strategic plan, we will focus more on urban projects – both in France and internationally."
Asia
"The cable car market is quite cyclical. There have been phases in South America, then in Asia – especially in China and South Korea – but currently there are fewer projects there," notes Mehdi Caillis
After spectacular installations such as gondolas to the Great Wall of China or the world's longest three-cable cable car (8 km) by Doppelmayr in Hon Thom (Vietnam), the pace has slowed.
Following projects near the Great Wall in Simatai and cable cars to sacred sites in Korea, POMA is now building an urban cable car system in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The first line (approximately 4.2 km, 2 stations, 98 cabins) is under construction; commissioning is planned for around 2026. This will be the country's first urban cable car, with an investment volume of €30–50 million; it will be fully electric and quiet.
Central and Western Asia
Laurent Vanat explains: "In this region, you regularly hear about new projects, but not all of them are realized – or only much later. Kazakhstan, for example, has revived a project from the early 2010s that originated in connection with an Olympic bid. In addition, there is a new ski resort in Kyrgyzstan and a new resort in Armenia – Myler, the country's third."
The Austrian company SUNKID , world market leader for year-round leisure facilities, installed conveyor belts for beginner areas there.
“There are large projects in Central Asia, but the population is hardly interested in skiing,” Vanat continued, referring to the ultramodern Shahdag ski resort in Azerbaijan with low occupancy.
Max Rougeaux, marketing manager at TechnoAlpin , adds: "Central Asia offers interesting potential with some significant projects, but these often target individual tourist destinations and are not part of a national winter sports strategy."
TechnoAlpin equipped Shahdag with snowmaking systems. Since 2025, a major expansion has been underway, adding approximately 140 additional snow cannons and three new pumping stations. In total, Shahdag will eventually have more than 550 snow cannons.
In Kazakhstan, the snowmaking system at the Oi-Qaragai resort was expanded in 2025. In Uzbekistan, the Amirsoy ski resort – one of the largest and most modern in the country – is also equipped with TechnoAlpin technology, making it the first resort in the country with snowmaking capabilities.
MND 's largest current market is Uzbekistan: a €100 million contract for the Chimgan ski resort, including chairlifts, a detachable 10-person gondola, avalanche protection, leisure attractions, and automatic snowmaking. Chimgan is intended to develop into Central Asia's leading year-round mountain destination.
The Kyrgyz state is also pushing ahead with the major project "Three Peaks" – the largest ski resort project in Central Asia. With 200–250 km of slopes, up to 36 lifts, and investments of around US$1 billion, a phased implementation is planned between 2030 and 2035.
Africa
Africa is attracting growing interest in urban cable car projects.
"Currently, the projects are mainly concentrated in North Africa, but countries like Rwanda, Ivory Coast, and Senegal are also showing interest," explains Mehdi Caillis
POMA completed the urban cable car in Antananarivo (Madagascar) in 2025, with a length of 8.7 km and a capacity of up to 40,000 passengers daily.
Tourism projects are also being developed, such as the gondola lift in the DianaLand leisure park in Agadir (Morocco), installed in 2023 by Doppelmayr .
Cable car traffic is experiencing a boom on Réunion Island. Following the successful Papang Metrocable (2022), MND is now building the ZÈL La Montagne line, the world's first energy-neutral urban cable car, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2028.
South America and the Caribbean
"Chile and Argentina had a good ski season in 2024, but there is little new investment," said Laurent Vanat
In urban areas, the continent is a pioneer: Medellín, Bolivia (10 lines), Colombia and Mexico are among the most dynamic markets.
In the Caribbean, Doppelmayr is currently building the world's longest gondola lift (6.6 km) to Boiling Lake on the island of Dominica.
Middle East
Numerous urban and tourism projects are being developed in Saudi Arabia. The megaproject NEOM and the Trojena ski resort, host of the 2029 Asian Winter Games, are being built despite criticism – including snowmaking with desalinated seawater
South Asia – India
After Colombia, Peru, and China, India is the new global hotspot for cable car technology – for urban mobility as well as for developing rural and tourist mountain regions. As part of the national program Parvatmala Pariyojana, India plans to build over 200 cable car lines by 2030, totaling 1,200 km in length and with a budget of more than €13 billion.
Current projects include the Shillong Peak cable car, implemented by POMA , with planned commissioning in 2027
For European manufacturers such as Doppelmayr, Leitner, Poma, and MND Ropeways, India has thus become a key market – and will soon be the world's largest for urban and tourist cable car projects.
MOUNTAIN PLANET is the world's leading trade fair for mountain infrastructure and industry, held every two years in Grenoble (ALPEXPO, France). The 2026 edition will take place from April 21-23, 2026, and will bring together over 900 exhibitors and more than 20,000 trade visitors from 68 countries
https://www.mountain-planet.com/en/
*Source: Montagne Leaders – www.montagneleaders.fr
