FRANCE: No snowfall means no windfall for ski resorts hoping to cash in on Christmas business

Many ski resorts in France have not been able to open in time for Christmas because of a lack of snow this season. Usually hundreds of thousands of tourists are waxing their skis as they prepare to head to the ski slopes at this time of year. But this year, the snow is thin on the ground, forcing most resorts to postpone the start of the ski season. The threat from climate change has hit the headlines as ski resorts in the Pyrenees and in the Alpine region experience the warmest weather in possibly 1,300 years. The mildest November and December in decades has forced dozens of ski resorts in the Pyrenees to stay closed until further notice. Ski resorts like Superbagneres in Luchon remain idle as the snow simply has not arrived in time. They are now having to invest heavily in equipment like snow cannons to make artificial snow if they want to keep the slopes open. "If we want to guarantee good skiing conditions from the start of December until April 1st like we did last year, without the snow cannons we would not be able to satisfy our customers requirements except if by chance there is exceptional snow falls," said Franck Hernandez, manager of Superbagneres ski resort. Ski resorts have to find other ways of making a living than from skiing or snow-shoe treks. Tourism officials in Luchon are putting a brave face on the situation, emphasising the activities off piste including local health spas and summer activities to make up for morose winters. "I think that holiday makers have the desire to test all kind of activities. It's true that we have invested heavily in snow cannons to provide decent skiing conditions but I don't think our visitors these days are obsessed by just being out skiing all day. They want to do all kinds of sports activities and relax at the same time," said Xavier Soubiron, head of the Luchon Tourism office. Making snow is environmentally damaging and would be useless above a certain temperature, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), a think-tank for 30 mainly industrialised economies. OECD has also said that plastic sheeting can protect glaciers but will not prevent the eventual loss of glaciers if warming trends continue.

ITN Source | December 23, 2006

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