As the February holidays begin, ski resort professionals are worried.

The ski lifts are closed to fight against the coronavirus, which leads to a sharp drop in attendance.

While resorts can open and vacationers can get there, industry players are preparing for a very difficult season.

The ski resorts look grim.

With the February vacation starting this Saturday, they have to learn to do without downhill skiing - which usually generates a lot of income - due to the continued closure of the ski lifts.

Deprived of this possibility because of restrictions linked to the coronavirus, holidaymakers are logically less likely than last year to book ski holidays, despite the possibility of practicing other activities.

This situation is a real blow from an economic point of view. 

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A sharp drop in attendance

The latest figures show that the level of reservations will be higher than that of Christmas, but very far from the usual level of February, explains Jean-Luc Boch, president of the association of mayors of mountain resorts.

"On the February holidays, as a general rule, we are more at 80-90% occupancy. Today, we have an average of 38%. We have therefore a sharp decline."

This is confirmed by Yannick Mazzochi, from the Skimium store in Les Saisies in Savoie.

"Our economic lung is the ski rental of alpine skis. Here, we do not have the same profitability, so we are going to have to do a lot of hours for a loss which is consequent. I think to finish around -35 % of turnover in February, "he laments.

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There will still be vacationers in the snow and, for large resorts, the challenge is to replace downhill skiing with snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or hiking.

This poses other logistical problems, admits Yannick Mazzochi.

“Everyone wants to rent cross-country ski or hiking equipment,” he says.

And faced with this increase in demands, he cannot cope.

"I have less than 300 pairs of cross-country and ski touring skis. I would need 420," he explains.

2021 will therefore be an exceptional vintage in the mountains, but in a bad sense.

There remains the small hope of being able to reopen the ski lifts in March or April, at the end of the season, just to save the furniture, if the sanitary situation allows it.