HOW CAN WE EVOKE THE MEMORY OF RENÉ AVANTHAY, FOUNDER OF AVANTHAY SA REAL ESTATE AGENCY, IN JUST A FEW WORDS?

What comes to mind first is his civic commitment, his fight to improve the life of a small mountain community that embraced tourism over 150 years ago. In the 1950s, he was part of a group of pioneers, including Jean-Maurice Trombert and Michel Bochatay, who early on understood the need to unite the destiny of the small Val d’Illiez resort with that of its French neighbors to create the largest contiguous ski area in the world: Les Portes du Soleil. These friends, putting aside local rivalries, gave the momentum that placed the valley on the map of international tourism, creating new and lasting economic opportunities for its inhabitants.