Day tickets for 80 euros, season tickets for almost 1000. Who can even afford skiing anymore? The price spiral could thin out what was once a mass sport.
Munich – It’s not a perceived truth: prices in ski areas rise every year. First it was due to the corona pandemic, then the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. Winter 2023/24 will be no different.
Ski prices have risen by 15 to 20 percent in the past two years. This applies from the Alps to the Dolomites, writes La Stampa. And compared to 2022, day tickets will be ten percent more expensive this season. For season tickets it is up to 6.5 percent.
Slope expert calculates: Large ski areas are becoming more and more expensive – small ones have it easier
“Skiing will never be a mass sport again,” Giorgio Munari told the Italian newspaper. He is the managing director of Monterosaski, the company operates slopes between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont.
Munari expects the large ski areas to run into problems. Because: the larger the areas, the greater the price increase. Smaller areas with fewer lifts have significantly lower operating and maintenance costs. And they quadrupled after the war, he calculates.
Ski prices in winter 2023/24: Small ski areas often stay below 70 euros
Examples prove him right: The day pass for the huge Superski Dolomiti area (1200 kilometers of slopes) costs 80 euros. In Les Trois Vallées (600 kilometers of slopes) in France it is 75 euros and in Zermatt (360 kilometers of slopes) it is an impressive 92 francs (97 euros). The cost shock in Austria will be even greater this season.
A positive outlier in comparison: Les Portes du Soleil with 650 kilometers costs 68 euros per day and is therefore in the price range of smaller areas. The Zugspitzsbahn (17 kilometers of slopes), for example, costs 62 euros per day. The Almwelt Lofer in Austria (46 kilometers of slopes) only charges 45 euros. Last year, too, the cheapest German ski areas were also some of the smallest.
In the Alps, however, more and more ski areas want to use a completely different model: dynamic prices that depend on the weather. “Families tend to be the losers,” warn consumer advocates. (moe)
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