Skiing, record investments on lifts in 2024

BOLZANO - "In view of the opening of the 2024-2025 ski season, Anef members have invested more than 310 million euro in ski lifts, snow groomers and snowmaking equipment," Valeria Ghezzi, president of the National Association of Ropeway Operators (Anef), a member of Confindustria, told Il Sole 24 Ore. This is a record figure, the most in the last 10 years. The sector is investing a lot and not only in the Olympic sites'. In 2023, 250 million were spent on machinery and equipment. The sector is going through a favourable moment because Italy is the third country in Europe in terms of turnover and ski days after Austria and France with 1.3 billion, which becomes 8 billion with the allied industries. "Every euro invested in ski lifts generates a spin-off on the territory equal to 10 euros," emphasises Daniela Santanchè, Minister of Tourism. "As a ministry, with various announcements in the two-year period 2023-2024, more than 400 million have been allocated to the mountains. The objectives are economic, social, and environmental sustainability and deseasonalisation to have 12 months of tourism at altitude'. As far as the balance of the past season is concerned, the attractiveness of the mountains is confirmed, but with some distinctions. "The past winter saw a long and very good season for the Alps," recalls president Ghezzi, "but a difficult one for the Apennines where heat and scarcity of snow did not allow us to work as hoped. August 2024 was very good, but June and September were plagued by bad weather".

Among the challenges of the sector is sustainability and Valeria Ghezzi points out that ski slopes in Italy occupy only 91 square kilometres of surface area, '0.09% of the mountainous territory'. Programmed snow is green because it is made with water and electricity but producing it costs money. "It is without additives but for a kilometre of slope 40 metres wide you spend 80 thousand euro," says the president. Installers are also progressively migrating towards greener machinery and 40 per cent of Anef companies use renewable energy. "New snow groomers reduce diesel consumption by 12-13%, snowmaking systems use high-efficiency generators with energy savings of around 15%, and some companies use chairlifts with Ecodrive technology that allows a 20% cut in motive power," explains Cristian Celoria, a Pwc partner.

That of the ski lift operators is a garrison of the territory, while tourism brings work and wealth to the valleys and high altitudes, allowing the highlands to live and preventing their desertification.