– Cannot be compensated by cabin passengers – E24

When the hut ban came into effect in March, it was tough on the hut townships in Hallingdal.

Ski resorts, hotels, restaurants and retail chains closed, and Hallingdal municipalities ranked high in Nav’s unemployment statistics.

In Hemsedal, almost 30 percent of the municipality’s workforce was listed as completely unemployed in March. In February, it was only one percent.

The decrease in trips to the south and the “cabin office”, on the other hand, has been part of the rescue of the municipalities, which now expect a “full” of ski-loving cabin people this Christmas.

– People from the cabins started arriving a few weeks before Christmas Eve, says Hol Mayor Petter Rukke (Labor Party).

However, the loss of foreign tourists cannot be made up for by Norwegian visitors at Christmas.

– Not good in any way

– Unemployment is our biggest problem. We have a lot of seasonal workers in the winter season, and this year there have been fewer to avoid high unemployment, says the mayor of Trysil municipality, Erik Sletten (Sp).

In April, almost 23 percent of the municipality’s workforce was registered as completely unemployed, according to figures from Nav. In December, unemployment statistics fell to 6.7 percent.

At the same time, 93 people have registered who have applied for or obtained unemployment benefits due to layoffs in November.

– It’s a lot and it’s not good in any way. It is tourism that is most affected, both directly and indirectly, says Sletten.

Losses in closed borders

In the municipality of Hemsedal, the proportion of unemployed has decreased considerably, but five percent of the workforce remains completely unemployed.

In November, 67 people had applied for or received unemployment benefits for dismissal, compared to 378 people in April.

– This is especially due to tourism during the week. From Monday to Thursday, the prices are lower, and it is more often when we receive visits from foreign tourists, especially from Sweden and Denmark, says the Mayor of Hemsedal, Pål Rørby (Sp).

It is also foreign tourists who most frequently use the offer of ski schools in the Alpine resorts, and book more stays in the Hemsedal accommodations, according to the mayor.

– Norwegian visitors and cottage owners dominate on weekends, and since Norwegians have more purchasing power, we don’t notice a very big difference in billing on those days, says the mayor.

He also says that the strong turnout on weekends does not provide a sufficient base to hire people in full-time positions.

– It is a delay we are struggling with, which Norwegian visitors cannot make up for.

– We have had a high level of preparation

Just over two weeks before Christmas Eve, several of the municipalities opened the ski resorts, which in the spring months were badly affected by the pandemic and the measures that followed.

Alpine and hotel giant Skistar, which operates ski resorts in Trysil and Hemsedal, had to shut down and lay off several hundred employees in March and April.

The company halved its turnover in the third quarter, which ended at SEK 486 million, compared with SEK 939 million in the same period last year.

Several hotels, restaurants and commercial chains in the Hallingdal municipalities suffered the same fate.

– The target companies came together early on to find solutions to what they could do to avoid too much harm to the companies. It has had a positive effect and I am incredibly grateful that they started so early and worked so hard, says Hol Mayor Petter Rukke.

The mayors of Hallingdal tell E24 that extensive checks have been carried out on the ski resorts and that the test trips have worked well in terms of infection control.

– We have had a high level of preparation and a great system that is in place in case something happens. So we’re in a good position to welcome cabin passengers at Christmas, says Rukke.

At the same time, they experience that visiting Norwegians have brought with them good infection control habits from big cities, and that meeting the mountain guidelines has not been a problem.

Had little control over infection control

– This spring we learned that we had little control when it came to infection control. We have that now, says Rukke.

It says the stores were not sufficiently equipped to take over infection control in March and April, and were among the areas with the highest spread of infection.

– We have been in crisis situations before, but never one that has been so long. Fortunately, it affected us less during the second wave of infection, he says.

On the night of Friday, December 18, the municipality of Hemsedal introduced a bandage order where it was difficult to keep the “meter”.

– This has created reactions, says Mayor Pål Rørby.

– Even with little infection in the municipality, we have chosen to introduce this to protect both residents and visitors.

The mayor says they have also introduced stricter and better routines for detecting infections, so if an outbreak occurs, it will be dealt with quickly.

– We want us to never go back to where we were in March, where people have to go home. This time we are much better prepared.