"Annual Deficits Accumulate"... Alpine Ski Resorts Closing One After Another Due to Global Warming

As Snowfall Decreases, Ski Resort Operations Face Challenges

Due to global warming, small and medium-sized ski resorts in the French Alps are closing one after another.

According to the French daily Le Figaro on the 10th (local time), the resort Alp du Grand Serre, located in the mid-mountain region of the Alps, will close after this winter, ending 85 years of operation.

The regional council decided on the 4th to stop subsidies for the ski resort.

Marie-Noelle Battistel, a member of the National Assembly from the area, explained, "Since 2017, the regional council has provided 2.7 million euros (about 4 billion KRW) in funding to this resort, but deficits have been accumulating every year."

Representative Battistel emphasized, "The closure of the ski resort will affect 200 direct and indirect jobs and many families. It is heartbreaking, but we are not giving up and are all working to find solutions."

Residents of the nearby commune of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne also decided through a referendum on the 6th to close the resort Grand Puy on November 1. This ski resort has seen a decline in visitors and annual losses of hundreds of thousands of euros due to less frequent snowfall caused by global warming.

Last month, M?tabief, the largest ski resort in the Jura Mountains, announced it would close 30% of its ski area due to the effects of global warming, sparking strong opposition from local merchants.

According to Pierre-Alexandre Metral, a geography professor at the University of Grenoble, more than 180 ski resorts in France have closed since the 1970s. Most closures have been small, unprofitable ski resorts in mid-mountain areas, where reduced snowfall since the 2000s has made ski resort operations increasingly difficult.