It’s perhaps fair to say that Crans-Montana, located in the heart of the Swiss Alps, has historically been best known for its touristic appeal.A dramatic mountainous backdrop, breathtaking views over the Rhône Valley from its 1,495m altitude, friendly locals, delicious food and endless options for outdoor pursuits make it the perfect year-round destination.Not to mention, you’re in good company: clientele includes Prince William and the late Sir Roger Moore, who died in the Alpine chalet he owned here.
Side note, but rumour has it the aforementioned chalet is being transformed into a dedicated Roger Moore museum. Bond fans, unite.If you haven’t already executed a quick Google search of the region by this point of the article, don’t do it just yet.Not because the images you’ll be served of blue skies (upwards of 300 sunny days a year), snow-cloaked mountains, rugged forests and quintessentially Swiss wooden chalets won’t make you want to immediately invest in a sturdy pair of snowshoes and start researching the best places to sample raclette.But because Google describes the department as a ‘world famous ski resort’.
And its 10,000 strong population and its businesses, bars and restaurants that remain open all year round and huge infrastructure projects that cover health, technology, education, prove that it’s much more than just that.So, how did the holiday destination in the middle of the mountains become one of Switzerland’s most sought-after areas for tech companies?“Developing our region with technology sectors goes in the holistic wake of our historical major economic sectors such as healthcare, tourism, education and real estate,” says Nicolas Féraud, president of the Crans-Montana region.One key example of this is