"No toxic waste": Aiwanger defends aid for snowmaking systems - and attacks Green voters 

Created: 01/16/2023 13:52

By: Thomas Schmidtutz

The Bavarian Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger defended state aid for ski tourism in Bavaria.

Without snowmaking, there was a risk of “empty hotels and restaurants” in many places

Munich – Bavaria's Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger has vehemently rejected the criticism of state subsidies for cable car and snow-making systems.

"Without snowmaking, we would have had empty hotels and restaurants in many regions of Bavaria and our skiers would have carried the money to Austria" and other countries, the head of the Free Voters told

, referring to the unusually mild winter.

Many critics act as if artificial snow were "toxic waste".

At the same time, Aiwanger indirectly accused Green supporters of hypocrisy.

Many Green voters "are also going skiing from cities like Munich", but then apparently didn't know "that they themselves are skiing on artificial snow".

At the same time, Aiwanger emphasized that the state government's investment subsidies are aimed at developing "sustainable year-round tourism" in Bavaria.

The income from ski tourism is "very important", but not enough.

Without the funding, the cable car systems would "often not be modernized, but closed," explained the Deputy Prime Minister.

Mr. Aiwanger, the winter is unusually mild this year.

Many holiday regions only survived the important Christmas season thanks to artificial snowmaking.

What does that mean for the state government?

This means that the concept of the tourism regions and the state government is correct to make snow technically in order to improve snow security.

Without snowmaking, we would have had empty hotels and restaurants in many regions of Bavaria in the last few weeks and our skiers would have carried the money to Austria etc.

All self-righteous critics must take note of this.

In the Bavarian Alpine regions in the Allgäu and in Upper Bavaria, the winter season has gone very well so far, also thanks to snowmaking.

During the Christmas holidays, a third of the winter turnover is made in the winter sports resorts, mainly by skiers. 

So do we need more subsidies for artificial snow systems in the coming years in order to ensure that hotels, lift operators and other operators can make a living in winter and to cushion the transition to other sources of income?

Our neighboring countries and competitors have massively upgraded their snowmaking facilities in recent years, while in Bavaria numerous ski lifts that did not have snowmaking facilities have been abandoned.

That seems to be the real goal of the ideological opponents of snowmaking.

Nevertheless, our focus is on promoting sustainable year-round tourism in Bavaria.

The income from the skiers is very important, but not enough.

On the other hand, without skiers, in many cases the income is not sufficient to keep a tourist region competitive.

Without our state investment subsidies, things are often not modernized, but closed.

Snow-making systems only make up a small part of cable car promotion.

If a ropeway system needs to be modernized,

then the snowmaking systems will also be funded.

But it is also about barrier-free entrances or charging stations for electromobility.

In addition, only 25 percent of the existing ski slopes in Bavaria can be artificially snowed.

Hubert Aiwanger: "Do the Greens want people not to be allowed to leave the city?"

How much money has the state government made available in recent years for the construction of snowmaking systems and lifts and cable cars in the Free State?

From 2018 to 2021, 11 projects from the cable car guideline were approved.

A total of around 46 million euros in funding will flow into this.

Of this, 3.7 million euros are accounted for by snow-making systems.

That's not even ten percent.

Only one further project was approved in 2022.

This is a pure cable car measure without snowmaking.

There is no discernible trend towards more subsidies from the cable car guideline being requested for snow-making systems.

Snowmaking has meanwhile become an ideological issue for the Greens, whose voters drive out of cities like Munich to go skiing themselves and apparently don't know that they are skiing on artificial snow themselves.

Artificial snow is nothing more than frozen water from stored precipitation,

which even protects the vegetation underneath from frost.

They're acting like it's toxic waste.

And the energy that is required for snowmaking is significantly less than the electric cars would need if they drove from Munich to Austria to go skiing instead of taking the shorter route to our ski areas.

Or do the Greens want people no longer to be allowed to leave the city?

Or will their skis be confiscated at border controls to Austria?

that people are no longer allowed to leave the city?

Or will their skis be confiscated at border controls to Austria?

that people are no longer allowed to leave the city?

Or will their skis be confiscated at border controls to Austria?

But the average snow line has already risen by around 400 meters in recent years.

By 2050, this value is expected to increase by another 400 meters.

Hand on heart: Isn't ski tourism in Bavaria a phased-out model?

We don't know exactly what will happen by 2050.

This can also affect many other sports and professions that require water, green grass, etc.

Although we have to prepare for all sorts of things, we cannot politically turn off the tap in advance.

The future of winter tourism is also not easy to foresee.

That's why it's important to have a broad, attractive range, like we do in Bavaria.

The Bavarian mountain regions already have much more to offer than just skiing.

This is also illustrated by a look at the statistics.

Even in the region with our highest ski resorts, in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, there were more than twice as many overnight stays in the summer half-year 2022 as in the winter half-year 21/22.

Aiwanger: "Should stop running around with a doomsday expression"

But what has to happen so that the lower-lying communities in Bavaria can also cope with the transition without there being mass job losses?

We promote the year-round attractiveness of Bavarian vacation spots.

Snowmaking is a small detail, but one that is important for many places, and one that the critics work through because they don't have much else to criticize.

We help ensure that tourism in Bavaria is sustainable and climate-friendly.

More modern, state-subsidized cable cars are more energy-efficient than old systems.

Tourists also come to hike, to relax, to go to the summer toboggan run or to go e-biking.

We promote local e-charging stations more than in the green governed federal states.

Incidentally, no one has yet complained that we also need electricity for e-cars in holiday areas, not just for cable cars and snowmaking.

So please leave the church in the village.

Just think of the numerous thermal baths in the Free State,

which we support out of conviction.

For example, a new, attractive facility is currently being built in Oberstdorf.

The measures at the Alpspitzwellenbad in Garmisch are also being funded.

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Nevertheless: Doesn't the state government have to change course even more in the future and set other funding priorities for lower-lying regions?

Since the mid-1980s, the state government has been supporting local authorities in creating the necessary public infrastructure by promoting public tourism infrastructure facilities, or RÖFE for short.

Funding for cable cars, on the other hand, was only added in 2009 in order to eliminate existing competitive disadvantages compared to our neighboring countries by reducing the investment backlog.

Every year, around 20 million euros flow from the RÖFE into the improvement of spa and hiking trails, thermal baths and the like.

The cable car funding is currently endowed with approx. 9 to 10 million euros annually.

But resistance to the expansion of snowmaking systems is growing.

What do you say to environmentalists? 

That they should inform themselves on site and stop running around all day with an apocalyptic expression and annoying and patronizing other people.

Maybe you should eat a piece of meat from the local pasture cattle or deer, maybe then your joie de vivre will return.