French visitor attraction and ski resort operator Compagnie des Alpes saw group like for like sales dip 1.8 per cent during the first quarter of its financial year, mainly due to its underperforming Belgian parks.

Sales from its leisure and theme park portfolio were down 3.8 per cent during the three months to 31 December 2009, a fall that the group attributes to trading conditions at its Belgian parks, which include Bellewaerde and Walibi Belgium.

A statement said: "Excluding Belgium, our leisure parks achieved sales growth of more than 3 per cent for the period."

Meanwhile, overall sales from the company's ski operations rose 2.6 per cent, mainly thanks to the acquisition of Deux Alpes Loisirs. Like-for-like revenue was down by 0.8 per cent.