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Austria's winter tourisrrOhls season has fallen back to the / level of the 1950s, with overnight stays
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Let Them Ski! Austrians Defy COVID Rules on the Slopes, Amid Huge Losses While reports of Austrian skiers defying social distance rules make international headlines, there is little joy for local ski lift operators who are recording massive losses and rolling back services by
Amina Frassl
Ever since the reopening of Austrian ski resorts, images of ski lifts jam-packed with powder enthusiasts eager to carve and wedel down the snowy pistes have circulated on the Internet. Onlookers speak of "ski chaos," raising eyebrows among healthcare workers and federal government officials. For now, the numbers tell a different story. While Austria's COVID -19 cases remain stagnant, ski resorts lament a lost winter season. In Austria, skiing hits close to home. Our connection to the sport dates back centuries; we practically invented it. So, despite being in a third "hard" lockdown, Austrians are loathe to give up skiing. This seems to have been Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's thinking when he pressured European leaders to
reopen ski resorts in time for Christmas, inspired by Finance Minister Gernot Bliimel, who complained about the billion euro loss from a mandated closure of ski lifts. But European officials did not share the Austrian vision. Remembering the fatal events in Ischgl last spring, which, according to Politico, "spread coronavirus across the continent," German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed for the closure of all continental ski resorts (German ski resorts will likely remain shuttered this year). Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte reciprocated, proposing to keep lifts out of service until January 10. Similarly, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that it would be
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"impossible" to reopen ski resorts during the holidays due to the high number of coronavirus infections (the reopening of French ski resorts is tentatively planned for February). Still, there is an argument to keeping them open. Studies have traced the Ischgl corona clusters to its crowded apres -ski bars, rather than its ski lifts. In addition, outdoor exercise at high elevations is known to be healthy and strengthen the immune system. According to Tyrol spokeswoman Julia Scheiring, "The longing for exercise in nature and relaxation in the mountains is particularly strong due to the lockdown." Following weeks of negotiation, Kurz found a compromise, arguing that "taking a ski lift is similar to taking public transportation." Alone
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