Dense ski areas in the Alps: Ischgl fears and hopes for a long season

In many places, the Alps are covered in deeper snow than rarely at this time of year – the perfect backdrop for winter sports. But tourism during the Christmas holidays is practically canceled due to travel restrictions due to the corona pandemic. The weeks over Christmas and New Year usually account for 20 to 30 percent of sales in the winter season. Hope rests on the time after that. A look at the high and the nearby low mountain range:

Italy's ski resorts are closed until January 6th

ITALY: With a decree of December 3rd, the government in Rome decided, among other things, to close the ski resorts until January 6th. This particularly affects the operators in the northern Italian regions of Trentino and South Tyrol, Veneto and the Aosta Valley. In the winter holidays these were often fully booked, according to the Italian travel and tourism industry association, Federturismo. An influx of Italian and foreign guests is not to be expected. Strict travel restrictions apply until the beginning of January. According to the regulations in the decree, foreign guests must expect a quarantine.

120,000 jobs depend on ski tourism

In addition to the operators of the ski areas, hotels, restaurants, transport companies and ski schools are also affected by the closings. Winter tourism generates sales of around eleven billion euros in one season – a third of that between the beginning of December and the beginning of January. According to its own information, the association therefore expects a loss of 70 percent in sales in the industry. According to Federturismo figures, there are around 400 cable car companies and around 1500 ski lifts in Italy. A total of around 120,000 people are employed in the sector, mostly on seasonal contracts.

Corona hotbed Ischgl is hoping for a long season

AUSTRIA: Federal states like Tyrol are extremely dependent on winter tourism – and above all on German guests. This also applies to Ischgl, which hit the headlines in March 2020 as a hotspot for the spread of the virus. The traditionally long season up to the beginning of May seems to be a trump card there. Large parts of the 240 km of slopes in the ski area are over 2000 meters.

"This season the long season could be an advantage," said tourism boss Andreas Steibl hoping for fans of skiing in the spring as well. The precautions to make the place particularly safe this time would be implemented from December 24th, when the lifts across Austria should start up again, at least for the locals. Because hotels and bars will not open again until January 7th.

Also read: "Kitzloch" host admits after the Ischgl disaster: "That was a big mistake"

In Saalbach-Hinterglemm, with its 20,000 guest beds, there is hope for a strong February. In view of the holiday weeks in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, this is traditionally the second particularly profitable month after the Christmas holidays. "In the summer we saw how quickly tourism is recovering," says the spokeswoman for the tourism association, Karin Pasterer. The almost complete failure of the rush of guests over Christmas and New Year is a bitter blow. "But everyone makes the best of it."

The lifts are running in Switzerland – but nobody expects a good season

SWITZERLAND: The country has so far resisted pressure from neighboring countries to stop skiing in the high season over Christmas. Still, hardly anyone expects a good season. Hotels and ski pass providers see few interested parties from abroad, also because many countries have strict quarantine measures for returnees.

Zermatt with the ski area on the Matterhorn and the Aletsch Arena with the ski area in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch expect losses of 25 to 30 percent this winter. The large Arosa / Lenzerheide ski arena in the canton of Graubünden hopes to get away with it with a black eye, because 80 percent of the guests traditionally come from Switzerland. However, the local holidaymakers did not make up for the absence of foreign guests in the summer either: the number of overnight stays fell by a good 40 percent.

Advance sales for ski passes are slow in many places, and there is still hope for spontaneous travelers and day tourists. The Titlis mountain railways in Central Switzerland are out of the ordinary with a record number of ski passes sold in advance – almost 40 percent higher: "We have the most successful sales season we have ever had," said Marketing Director Urs Egli of the "Luzerner Zeitung".

France's ski lifts are closed until January 7th

FRANCE: The ski lifts are closed here until at least January 7th. The anger in the famous tourist regions such as Charmonix, Savoy or Les Trois Vallées is great. Many criticized the government's decision to be out of proportion – there were hygiene rules being observed on site. France's highest administrative court saw it differently: the State Council rejected a complaint from ski regions and the tourism industry. A closure over the Christmas holidays was justified in view of the corona pandemic, the court decided.

France wants to compensate lift operators financially

The French government now wants to give the industry financial support. There should be 400 million euros in support for the industry. For the ski lifts, up to 70 percent of the fixed costs should be offset. In order to prevent the French from skiing abroad over the holidays, there should be strict quarantine requirements for returnees from skiing holidays.

CZECH REPUBLIC: The ski areas in the low mountain ranges are allowed to open from December 18th. At the same time the closure of the hotels was ordered. Prime Minister Andrej Babis has made it clear that skiing "only for our people", i.e. for locals, will be an option.

The Association of Ski Areas (AHS) complained about a "spiral of chaos and insecurity". Winter tourism is an important source of income in the structurally weak upland mountain regions of the Czech Republic. A negative PCR test and online registration are required to enter the Czech Republic from most European countries.