Winter tourism: European countries do not consent to reopen ski resorts in the midst of COVID-19

With the snow season ahead, and in the midst of the second wave of the deadly pandemic that struck the world this year the European countries known for their ski spots were in a dilemma.

Holding the resorts closed means losing the financial benefit of the entire winter tourist season and placing thousands of companies and jobs at risk in order to reduce the risks of an increased number of cases of COVID-19.

On the other hand, opening up resorts in the midst of the already high number of COVID-19 cases currently being found in each EU member means risking a worsening situation, even to the point that complete lockdowns will once again become a must.

To date, any effort to organize the reaction between the Member States has failed, with Austria and Switzerland deciding not to let the season slip off their hands, while France, Germany and Italy are planning to keep the ski resorts closed.

Germany, Italy & France are preparing to keep the resorts closed

As German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated last week, Germany not only plans to keep its own ski slopes closed, but also aims to persuade other EU members to do the same.

We will try to find an agreement in Europe about whether we should close all the ski resorts," she told the German Parliament. "The ski season is approaching.

In her bid, Bavarian State Prime Minister Markus Söder supported Merkel, maintaining that Europe is not at a point where "classic ski holidays" can be permitted.

"I would prefer to have a common European-level agreement: no open ski lifts, no holidays anywhere," he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also called on the EU governments to keep the ski slopes closed, worrying that if other countries do not close their own ski slopes, Italians would go on their ski holidays to other EU countries.

If Italy had wanted to close down all its ski lifts without any help from France, Austria and the rest of the world, Italian tourists would risk going abroad and getting the infection back home," he said."

French President Emmanuel Macron also supports the concept of putting a stop to the winter holiday season and has already decided that the ski slopes in France will remain closed until the beginning of next year.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Jean Castex pointed out that it would not be forbidden for people to visit resorts in the French mountains, but that they would not be allowed to ski.

Austria & Switzerland to Make Open Ski Slopes

Austria would most likely allow ski slopes to reopen in the meantime, after its Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called for efforts to organize the closure of the 'exaggerated' ski resorts.

In view of the fact that winter tourism contributed 14.9 billion euros to Austria's budget last year, Kurz's efforts to retain the resorts are very understandable. Austrian Finance Minister Gernot Blümel has also pointed out that as measured by analysts, a shutdown would cost Austrian resorts up to EUR 2 billion.

It is estimated that about seven million skiers from Germany fly to Austria for a ski holiday each year. However the numbers will drop this year as all Austrian travelers arriving in Germany are expected to self-quarantine for 10 days, something not all skiing lovers can afford to go through.

Switzerland is also planning to keep the ski resorts open by forcing people to continue wearing their masks and to maintain the distance they need from each other. Recently, the latter has lifted quarantine conditions for people coming from most of the continent and is anticipating an influx over Christmas of European tourists.

"We can go skiing in Switzerland with protection plans in place," said Health Minister Alain Berset last week.

While several other EU countries, such as Bulgaria, were hoping to obtain a recommendation from the Commission on the matter, Brussels noted that this is not a European competence," leaving the option to national governments.