Dolomiti Superski, investments to extend the ski season

Between 30 November and 7 December, the ski lifts belonging to the Dolomiti Superski Consortium, which yesterday celebrated its 50th anniversary and includes about 3,000 square kilometres of surface area and 1,200 kilometres of slopes, will open, while the season will end between 30 March 2025, in the case of San Martino di Castrozza - Passo Rolle and Civetta, and 1 May in Cortina d'Ampezzo. This is the calendar that will mark the 2024-2025 winter season, while in some resorts scheduled snowfall has already begun while waiting for natural snow. The high season will start between 22 December and 6 January and from 02 February to 22 March 2025. Also confirmed are the promotions at the beginning and end of the season, with the Dolomiti Super Première from 30/11-21/12/2024 and the Dolomiti Springdays from 16-22/03/2025 (L version) and from 23/03/2025 at the end of the season for the S version. On all other days the cost of the ski pass will be the same as the season price. The result is a lengthening of the season compared to a few decades ago, a result achieved mainly thanks to the snow cannons. If the ski pass increases are all in all limited to a few percentage points, from a minimum of 2.1% for the seasonal pass to 5.1% for the 6-day pass, this year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the consortium, a 'Junior' discount has been launched, 30% less on the price of daily and multi-day passes for all minors. "It is a structural and lasting measure because we wanted to make this choice in order to involve the new generations even more, to enthuse them about skiing from a young age and to build up the loyalty of our customers of the future," explains Andy Varallo, president of Dolomiti Superski. Other proposals for young people concerning seasonal and other ski passes are also proposed by the valley consortia. All in order to characterise and make skiing more and more attractive to the new generations. Also winking at the new generations is the project of an ad hoc discount for university students up to 25 years of age "for winter breaks at very advantageous conditions," Varallo continues, "These are investments to recover customers and new enthusiasts to bring closer to our sport.

On the post covid attendance front, there is a preponderant weight of international clientele, which above all helps to deseasonalise flows. Italian customers now have a 48-49% share, the remaining skiers come from the rest of Europe. The weight of the German market is important, contributing 28-29%. "We work with marketing actions and the collaboration of tour operators to attract skiers from Eastern Europe, from Poland to the Czech Republic, for example, also with the help of the operators of the individual valleys. Operations that give us satisfaction'. We are also focusing on long-haul customers from the USA and Canada "with excellent results" and from China "where skiing is growing strongly," explains the president of the Consortium.

A consortium whose member entrepreneurs have invested around 120 million to upgrade and renovate the cableways whose hourly capacity has increased as well as their comfort. Other investments are made in technology, for the 'My Dolomiti Card', reusable and rechargeable online, which in the near future will migrate in the form of a 'smart pass' on the mobile phone. In San Martino di Castrozza, this solution built around Bluetooth low energy technology is currently being tested. "Our readers at the turnstiles at the lifts will be able to recognise the user's ski pass and grant him access to the lift. The user himself will not have to do anything in particular, other than keep his smartphone in his pocket, preferably on the left side of his body," explains Gianni Rasom, Dolomiti Superski's Technical Manager.

It was 14 November 1974 when the six representatives of the already existing cableway consortia in the areas of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Plan de Corones, Alta Badia, Val Gardena-Alpe di Siusi, Val di Fassa-Carezza and Arabba signed the official deed in front of a notary in Brunico to establish the "Superski Dolomiti Association". Thus began an entrepreneurial success story, an Italian excellence taken as an example all over the world in the cableway and tourism sector, which half a century later, continues to play an important role in the civil society of the provinces of Trento, Bolzano and Belluno and to represent an essential point of reference for the development, not only of tourism, of these territories.

It all started from an idea of Erich Kostner, a cableway pioneer from Corvara in Alta Badia, which was soon shared with his colleagues in the neighbouring valleys. Fiorenzo Perathoner, president of Dolomiti Superski from 2000 to 2008, recalls: "Mr. Erich Kostner called me on the phone and suggested we meet to discuss his idea. We met a few days later at the Hotel Posta in Corvara. Present at the meeting were Erich Kostner, engineer Ugo Illing, Erich Kastlunger, Gottfried Declara, Paolo Fosco, Dr Franz Perathoner and myself. Mr Kostner informed us that it was time to find a solution for the users of the lifts around the Sella massif in the Dolomites, who were forced to pick up their wallets at every lift to pay for their tickets. He outlined his idea, which was to come to an agreement to create a single ticket to access the lifts in the four valleys around the Sella Group. The meeting was successful and even the participants in the meeting who did not have directly connected lifts were in favour. Thus began the story of an ambitious project. realise the ambitious project'. It started with six Dolomite valleys and reached its present size in 2000 with the addition of the Marmolada. The first president of Superski Dolomiti was Gianni Marzola, a Milanese entrepreneur transplanted to Val Gardena, who led the consortium for 26 years, assisted from 1979 onwards by Franz Perathoner, the first general manager, who remained in office until 2012. Today, the consortium offers 1,200 km of slopes, 450 lifts in 12 valleys, usable with a single lift pass in winter and 140 open lifts, 10,000 km of marked hiking trails, 450 km of mountain bike trails in all the Dolomite valleys, usable with a single lift pass.