No winter, no skiing. European resort dismantles lifts

The winter season is approaching, and with it, thousands of tourists will be heading out for skiing. However, not everywhere will have open slopes and lifts. Already, in early November, the small town of Céüze in France decided to suspend such activities. This difficult decision was made out of concerns about insufficient snow, which had significantly hampered the ski resort's operations in previous years.

Ski resort closed due to lack of snow

The Céüze resort in France, which opened in the 1930s, is ending its skiing operations. The last eight lifts, which operated there since the 2017/2018 season, are being dismantled. The work will take approximately two months, and the materials collected will be sent to other ski resorts in the Alps. This is due to uncertain conditions, which have prevented skiers from using the facilities in previous years.

Snowless winters and high temperatures don't bode well for the future, and running such a business is no longer economically viable. "According to information provided by Pierre-Alexandre Metral, who specializes in this field, 186 mostly very small ski resorts in France have already ceased operations for these reasons," reports Deutsche Welle.

The case of Céüze, however, isn't the most dramatic example, as the town can cope without the lifts. "We've long since come to terms with this, and our mountain region will recover in a different way. It's good that the lifts will finally be dismantled," say residents.

Winter tourism is becoming more and more expensive

Not only the lack of snow but also rising prices are an increasingly serious barrier to winter tourism. In one popular Italian ski resort, prices have risen by as much as 40 percent in recent years. And this applies not only to ski passes, but also to accommodations and restaurant meals. "Sports could soon become a privilege of the wealthy," says Gabriele Melluso, president of the Assoutenti Consumer Association.