France: editing professionals push for the reopening of stations in February
Chairlift stationary at the Val d'Isère ski resort in the Alps on December 12.
AFP - JEFF PACHOUD
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Winter sports professionals are stepping up pressure on the government to reopen the ski lifts during the February 2020 holidays.
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Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to vote on this subject on Wednesday, January 20.
Club Med CEO Henri Giscard d'Estaing, in an open letter published in the
Journal du dimanche
, urges the executive "
to save the mountain from despair
" and to allow ski resorts to reopen for the winter holidays , which begin on February 6.
"
The
winter sports
represent 50% of the Savoie GDP, and slightly less in Haute-Savoie
," otherwise he recalled in an interview with
JDD
, stressing that "
more than 100 000 seasonal jobs could disappear
" .
"
Allowing winter sports resorts to welcome customers only at the beginning of March would make as much sense as the opening of the beaches in October
", adds the CEO, when asked about the possibility of an opening later.
"
Give back hope
"
A reopening of the ski lifts in February would allow the sector to survive, believes Alexandre Maulin, president of Domaines skiables de France.
“
Today, we need this to restore hope, restore courage and allow us to survive until next winter,
” he said.
We realize that, when we close the ski area, it is 70% less frequentation over the Christmas and New Year period and behind, it is up to 80/85% of activity volume and of economic volume generated at mountain resorts.
So, it is a deadweight loss just for Christmas and New Year of 1.6 billion euros and as much for the month of January.
"
"Remain living in the territory"
Alexandre Maulin recalls that
“
the stations were created 70, 80 years ago
”.
“
For 70 years, we have developed a model to allow inhabitants of mountain areas to stay and live in the area.
Today this model is strong, but it is very fragile.
It will not be able to withstand a year without activity which would risk setting the entire territory in motion, because the resort economy regulates the valleys,
”
he continues.
The president of Domaines skiables de France
also
assures us
that “
the ski economy goes down like water comes down from the valleys.
And it is all the territories, departments and mountain regions that will be very strongly attacked in a systemic crisis
”.
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