display

The Austrian ski resort of Kitzbühel is popular with celebrities: Franz Beckenbauer lives here as does the billionaire Maria Elisabeth Schaeffler and in winter even Arnold Schwarzenegger travels from the USA.

For après-ski there is more like champagne than beer and fruit schnapps.

Only this year tea is hip.

"We offer sufficient toilets on the mountain, opportunities to warm up in between, as well as sandwiches and hot drinks to take away," says Christian Wörister, CEO of Bergbahn Kitzbühel.

This is how the "basic needs" can be satisfied.

After all.

Skiing is running at a minimum level throughout Austria this winter: Hotels and restaurants will be closed at least until the beginning of January due to the corona pandemic, and foreign guests will hardly ever arrive due to the strict quarantine regulations.

"We will hold out and make the best of the situation," says Wörister.

display

Almost half of the guests are Austrian day visitors or locals, the mountain railways have already sold 8,000 season tickets at a price of more than 600 euros each.

In addition to distance rules and hygiene regulations, a separate test center is to increase health protection.

Whether the current ski season is financially worthwhile is questionable.

The main thing is to keep regular customers.

“We are considered the best ski area in the world, and it should stay that way,” says Wörister.

The question of what remains is this year in many ski regions.

Even before that, they had to fight for survival and invested so that guests would come at all.

Because they are increasingly concentrating on a few large winter sports regions that are snow-sure despite climate change and the associated rising temperatures.

In the long term, only every third ski area in Austria may be able to survive without financial aid, estimates Stephan Tischler, Chairman of the International Alpine Protection Commission CIPRA Austria.

In Germany it should be even less.

And Corona accelerates this trend enormously.

The last winters in many European countries were the mildest since measurements began.

Because of the continuous warming, the snow season in the northern hemisphere is shortened by five days, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the depth of snow in Europe falls by an average of twelve percent in a decade.

display

A study by the German Meteorological Service, the Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology Meteo Switzerland and the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics showed that significantly less snow can be expected in the future at lower altitudes.

Experts only expect sufficient natural snow for winter sports in the medium term in locations above 1500 or 2000 meters.

According to a study by the German Alpine Association (DAV), only nine percent of the ski areas in the Bavarian Alpine region will be snow-sure over the next fifty years.

"In the middle of the century, only the Zugspitze, Fellhorn and Nebelhorn will likely be snow reliable," says DAV climate expert Tobias Hipp.

At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for many ski areas, especially at low altitudes, to generate enough artificial snow due to excessively high temperatures.

This hits Germany particularly hard.

In Germany there are currently 500 mostly small ski areas, only eleven percent have five or more lifts.

Only 36 ski areas are located at 1,400 meters or higher.

Many slopes are located in low mountain ranges such as the Harz, the Black Forest, the Bavarian Forest or the Thuringian Forest.

Corona hits these areas at an inopportune time.

In contrast to the Austrian areas, here you have no idea whether you can even open this winter.

Initially, the lifts will be closed until January 10th.

display

"I don't know how we're going to do it," says Marcus Gross, managing director of the Wurmberg cable car in Braunlage - Northern Germany's most modern ski area.

"A complete elimination of this year's winter business would threaten our existence."

The region expanded its infrastructure a few years ago: Twelve million euros flowed into new slopes, a new chair lift, floodlights and a snow-making system that is supposed to ensure snow is guaranteed on the 971 meter high Wurmberg.

The EU Regional Development Fund contributed to the costs.

You are bracing yourself against the inevitable.

Although and because climate change is threatening their existence, numerous regions are expanding their offerings.

“We are still investing heavily in snow infrastructure - mostly against the climatic facts”, says tourism expert Markus Tressel from the Green parliamentary group.

In addition, the number of skiers has stagnated for years.

“But everyone wants as large a piece of the cake as possible.

That triggered a real arms race between the ski areas, ”says Tischler from CIPRA.

In Austria in particular, the situation is extreme.

More than seven billion euros flowed into the 253 ski areas there over the past 20 years.

550 new lifts were built in the past 15 years.

A total of 79 percent of the ski areas have at least five lifts.

There is never much money left.

More than half of the sales were reinvested in the past few years.

"This is a problem especially for small and medium-sized ski areas at lower altitudes," says Tischler.

"You have invested a lot in the past few years, and in some cases you have become very indebted."

The problems are still great.

Some have now closed.

"The corona crisis should intensify this trend," said Tischler.

"We don't think about money at first," says Josef Reiter, CEO of Mayrhofner Bergbahnen.

Only five years ago his company put 80 million euros into a feeder railway and a storage pond.

His biggest problem: The Zillertal is 90 percent dependent on overnight guests.

Most of them are foreigners.

“We are now opening the most important runs and trying to get through Christmas without infections.

I hope that the situation will normalize again in mid-January. "

display

Should the foreigners actually stay away all winter, that would be a disaster for most Austrian ski resorts.

"78 percent of our overnight stays in winter come from abroad, we expect sales to drop by 80 percent if the restrictions continue throughout the winter and no foreign tourists can come," says Martha Schultz, Vice President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce.

In this case, she expects a two-digit billion damage to the Austrian economy.

Although part of the companies' losses would be cushioned by state aid, they are limited to three million euros per company due to EU requirements.

“That won't be enough for some of the cable car companies in particular,” fears Schultz.

In contrast, the losses of the German cable cars seem almost negligible: they take in around 90 million euros in winter.

During the Christmas holidays, 30 percent of sales are generated.

However, you have to take into account that for every euro that cable cars earn, four more euros are spent in the region on food, overnight stays, ski equipment or courses.

“Ultimately, 150 million euros in added value will be lost in the entire area around the mountain railways if we stay closed during the Christmas holidays.

If we are not allowed to open the entire season, it will be more than 400 million ”, says Matthias Stauch, member of the board of the Association of German Cable Cars and T-bar Lifts.

However, special support as in Austria is not planned for the ski industry in Germany.

The Federal Ministry of Economics refers to the cross-sector aid programs that winter sports companies could apply for.

This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG.

We will be happy to deliver them to your home on a regular basis.

Source: WamS