Opening of ski resorts in Italy postponed until mid-February

Courmayeur in the Italian Alps, before the pandemic

Credit: Robert Harding World Imagery

The opening of Italy’s ski resorts has been postponed until mid-February, as the country remains in the grip of a pandemic that has killed more than 80,000 people.

Ski resorts were originally meant to open on January 7 but that was postponed until January 18.

The government decreed on Friday that they will not be allowed to open until February 15 and even that may not be set in stone.

“I think it is unlikely that the ski season will resume on February 15,” said Valeria Ghezzi, the president of a national association of lift operators.

“There is an all too real risk that the entire season will be lost. We will only start to recover next Christmas. It is a disaster without precedent.”

Ski guides, operators, hoteliers and restaurant owners urgently need government assistance to help them survive until next winter, she said.

The closure of resorts this winter has so far cost the ski sector at least €11 billion, the industry claims.

“We’ve lost at least €11 to €12 billion,” said Luigi Bertschy, the deputy governor of Val d’Aosta, one of several regions where winter sports are vital to the economy.

With several hundred people dying of Covid-19 each day, Italy is tightening its restrictions.

On Friday, several regions were moved from the low-risk yellow designation to a higher risk orange designation, in which bars and restaurants have to close at 6pm.

Two areas renowned for skiing – the region of Lombardy and the semi-autonomous province of Sud Tyrol in the Dolomites – were made red zones, with the toughest restrictions.

Italy announced earlier this week that spectators will not be allowed at the 2021 Alpine Skiing World Championships, which will be held next month in Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites.

"The government’s scientific committee considers the participation of spectators to be too risky," said Vincenzo Spadafora, the sports minister.

One ski website described the ban on skiing until mid-February as a "tomb stone" that would kill the entire ski season this winter.

"It is a date that in essence puts a stop to the winter season of 2020/2021," said the website, Dove Sciare or Where to Ski. Italy’s alpine regions said thousands of businesses could go bankrupt as a result of the weeks of closure.

There was a glimmer of positive news, however.

While tougher restrictions were introduced across the country, the government announced that Italy has now vaccinated more than a million people.

"Italy is first in the EU for the number of people vaccinated," said Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister. "It’s an encouraging figure.    

"Let’s keep going in the same direction, keeping up our guard at all times".