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If Italian Prime Minister Conte has his way, the winter season doesn’t start until January, everywhere. Austria vehemently resists this and even demands compensation. And Switzerland? Go your own way.
Masks are required on all chair lifts, lifts and cable cars in the Swiss Titlis ski area.
Photo: Alexandra Wey (Keystone)
Italy’s decision on a late start to the EU winter sports season is sparking a dispute between the Alpine countries. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wants to keep ski areas closed until at least January 10 in light of the corona pandemic.
“It is not possible to afford a winter vacation, we cannot afford it,” Conte said in an interview with “La7” television channel. Italy is striving for a European roadmap for the gradual opening of ski resorts in coordination with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others. Macron will comment on the possible relaxation and the situation in the winter areas tonight.
According to media reports, there is agreement among heads of government that an uncoordinated and too fast opening as in summer would be a mistake.
Italian regions also demanded at least one transnational regulation: if the ski slopes were closed, it should apply to the whole of Europe, said the president of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, of the newspaper “Corriere della Sera”. Skiing cannot be banned in South Tyrol, Italy, but it is allowed in Carinthia, Austria.
Austria wants to unlock
Austria, which has been stressing for months that it wants to open ski areas with due precautions at all costs, responded on Tuesday with a vehement rejection of Italy’s demand. Finance Minister Gernot Blümel demanded billions of dollars in compensation from the EU if the ski lifts actually close during the Christmas holidays.
As a result, Austria expects a loss of sales of € 800 million for each of the vacation weeks. “If the EU really stipulates that ski areas must remain closed, that means costs of up to 2 billion euros. If the EU really wants that, then it has to pay for it, “Blümel said on Tuesday.
“In Austria, we create a billing substitute for all those areas that we officially close. If ski areas are to remain closed, then the EU must provide compensation for ski failures, ”demanded Blümel.
Closure in Switzerland not foreseeable
The situation is different in Switzerland. Despite a high number of new positive tests, they are Open ski areas. The country is completely dependent on the use of masks and the rules of distance. But the discussions in neighboring countries are also generating uncertainty in this country. Then it became the theme at the press conference with BAG experts addressed Tuesday. A journalist wanted to know from the doctor of the canton of Zug, Rudolf Hauri, if the authorities would recommend that he go skiing in winter, when the risk of accidents increases. “Hospitals are basically ready, especially in ski regions,” Hauri says. Many of the particularly affected hospitals would change their availability in the winter season.
“But it is an aspect that is causing some concern,” admits Hauri. “That is why everyone should adhere to the measures now, then we will also be able to ski in winter.” The chairman of the crown federal task force, Martin Ackermann, added that the lower the number of cases the scope could also increase.
The Verbier ski season opens on October 30, 2020.
Photo: Jean-Christophe Bott (Keystone)
Previously, Bern was not known about the subject for a long time. In mid-September, an unsuspecting federal adviser mentioned Alain Berset in an interview with this newspaperyou have already booked your ski vacation. “But I am aware that I might have to cancel everything at the last minute because the situation no longer allows it. Unfortunately, there is no certainty these days. “
Before that, he campaigned for a coordinated solution at a tourism summit with the other Alpine countries in August. Then he explained in another interview: “For me it is very important to find an internationally coordinated solution that also gives ski areas the ability to plan.” But that Failed deal and the Federal Council delegated the problem to the cantons. “We will coordinate with the other major winter sports cantons what protection measures we will impose,” says the Valais State Council and former CVP party chairman Christophe Darbellay. For Swiss ski areas, the joint agreement “Charter Covid-19” the same protection measures, sometimes also across borders.
Swiss tourism experts trust protection measures
The Italians’ call to the closed slopes is received with incomprehension among Swiss tourism professionals. Nicolo Paganini speaks of arbitrariness. “Italy did not close the beaches in the summer,” says the National Council of CVP and president of the Swiss Tourism Association to “20 minutes”. “The Italians can’t tell us what to do in Switzerland either.”
According to Paganini, each country should be able to determine autonomously if it wants the ski areas to be open or not. Furthermore, the number of infections in this country would continuously decrease. “Italian guests can judge for themselves whether Switzerland is safe for them as a holiday destination. Our protection concepts work in hospitality, catering and mountain railways. And the ski schools will also guarantee health protection, ”says Paganini.
For Berno Stoffel, the approach of the Italians is not realistic. “Such a demand cannot be implemented,” the director of the Swiss Cable Car Company told the newspaper. Such efforts at the European level failed in August. “So there will be no Alpine Accord or anything like that,” Stoffel said. Therefore, the demand from Italians is being taken in stride. “She doesn’t worry us.” It refers to the concept of safety in ski areas. This is well implemented. “We offer our guests the best possible security in winter.”
Switzerland Tourism is reacting cautiously. “This is a thesis that, according to media reports, is controversial in Italy. In Switzerland nothing is officially known about it, ”said spokesman Markus Berger. Switzerland Tourism does not comment on possible political discussions in a neighboring country.
A European level coordination of the operating hours and seasonal openings of winter sports destinations is suggested. Berger also notes that this approach was examined at the European level in late summer and that it was the wrong way to go. “So this approach shouldn’t be realistic even now. In Switzerland, the Federal Council, the authorities and the tourism industry are convinced that the Swiss path is the right one for the moment and that the winter season can pass safely, ”said Berger.
In the last “regular” winter 2018/19, guests from Italy contributed 455,000 hotel nights. According to Berger, this corresponds to a 2.7 percent stake. “You are in the top 10 of the most important countries of origin.”
Bavaria supports Italy
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder supported the Italian advance. “If we want to keep the borders open, we also need a clear agreement on skiing. Otherwise it will be a difficult development, ”he said in Munich on Tuesday. Anyone who goes skiing in risk areas has to be quarantined for ten days. “I would prefer that we have a uniform agreement at the European level: there are no open lifts anywhere or there are no holidays anywhere.”
Conte was also supported by Italian mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner. Waiting until January to open the tracks and operations, if contagious values allow it by then, is not an option but a duty, the 76-year-old told the newspaper “La Repubblica” (Tuesday).
