The decision was awaited by the sector.
The ski lifts of the ski resorts "will not reopen on February 1" and the sector is moving towards "a white season", announced the Secretary of State for Tourism on Wednesday January 20, a few hours after a Defense Council devoted to a health situation that is not improving.
Indeed, "a reopening in mid or late February seems highly improbable," Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne announced to the press.
Earlier, during a videoconference, he had gathered the actors of the sector, who hoped for this reopening "to ensure the survival of the mountain ecosystem" and "to limit the social impact" on a mountain tourism industry which represents between 250,000 and 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Prime Minister Jean Castex will receive in the coming days the actors of the mountain in order to "finalize the economic support measures" which will make it possible to strengthen the support for companies affected by this prolonged closure, announced Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.
"The snow cannons are not going to work, the compensation cannons must be there," the secretary of state for tourism said.
A sector hard hit by the Covid-19
For lack of ski lifts, the occupancy rates of ski resorts have already collapsed to "20 or 30%" at most, "against 95% usually" during the Christmas holidays which were to mark the start of the season, underlined Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.
"Unfortunately, we are moving towards a white season" now, because the month of February represents most of the season for this sector.
With AFP
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