Italian Ski Resorts Want to Limit Skiers to Overnight Guests Only

2nd December 2020

Last modified on May 20th, 2021

The alpine regions see it as a way to preserve the winter and reduce the spread of Covid-19. The authorities are yet to react.

Under the proposal only people who have booked accommodation or own a holiday home in a resort area would be able to purchase a lift pass.

Italian ski resorts bring in an estimated €11bn a year.

The resorts claim they could lose 60% of their annual business if they are not allowed to open over Xmas and into the New Year.

The Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, said it is not possible “to allow holidays on the snow. We cannot afford it”.

He added that “everything that revolves around holidays on the snow is uncontrollable.”

The proposal comes from the ski regions of Piedmont, the Aosta Valley, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige/Sud Tirol, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Resorts in Italy remain closed to the general public.

The current lockdown in Italy ends tomorrow, Thursday December 3rd.

The authorities will want to stop scenes like the ones seen earlier as Cervinia opened.

And then promptly closed.

Cervinia Opens and Then Closes After Crowded Scenes

The idea is to limit numbers and also reduce the amount of people travelling.

For international visitors the borders remain open, but people from the UK need to have proof of a recent negative test for coronavirus or take a test on arriving.

There are also quarantine restrictions on people coming back to the UK from Italy.

Italy currently has 281 reported cases for every 100,000 people over a 7-day period.

The resorts already have restrictions in pace including a cap on the number of people on the slopes each day.

There are reductions on people allowed in lifts, plus the mandatory use of face masks.

Bars and restaurants serving après-ski meals and drinks also operate under social distancing rules.

The UK operator, Ski Solutions, visited Cervinia in Italy in the autumn ahead the second surge in infections to see what winter might be like.

https://www.facebook.com/skisolutions/videos/778171932960275

The Italian government is currently looking at what measures to take as the current lockdown comes to an end.

People will also have to stay in their local areas and a 9pm curfew will need to be observed.

A new emergency decree – formally called a DPCM (Decreto del presidente del consiglio, or ‘prime minister’s decree’) – containing rules covering the next month, including the Christmas period, is due by Friday, December 4th.

“Financial support will be gauranteed for all businesses that will not be able to open,” said the Minister of Regional Affairs, Francesco Boccia.

“The ski lifts and winter vacations that are critical to our economy will reopen when the epidemic has cooled, hopefully within a month or a month and a half”.

The Italian authorities are expected to announce new rules and regulations this week.

Crucial week for ski season start in the Alps

So far the signs are that tough restrictions will be in place for ski resorts to prevent further spread of Covid-19 ahead of vaccines being widely administered in the spring.

Here at PlanetSKI we’ll keep you posted….