As of: February 18, 2024, 8:12 p.m
By: Victoria Krumbeck
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Press
Split
More and more ski areas are slipping into crisis.
However, a Swiss village managed to ward off the closure of the ski area by joining forces.
Tschiertschen – More and more Alpine ski areas are threatened with closure.
But for many Swiss, their love for their homeland knows no boundaries.
Because the local ski area was threatened with closure, the residents of the mountain village of Tschiertschen committed themselves to its preservation in a special way and collected an impressive sum of around 1.2 million Swiss francs.
Swiss ski resort in need: villagers collect millions in donations
Tschiertschen is a quiet village in Switzerland where just 200 people live.
The village is surrounded by a mountain backdrop that turns into a winter sports dream in winter.
But the village lacks money.
A day of operation in Tschiertschen costs around 13,000 Swiss francs, as
Spiegel
writes.
Every year, between 100,000 and 300,000 Swiss francs are missing from the mountain railway coffers.
The income from ski operations can no longer cover the costs of the lifts, piste preparation, equipment and staff.
Many Alpine ski areas are in crisis - they are threatened with closure (symbolic image).
© Herrmann Agency Photography/IMAGO
In September, locals were asked to take part in the mountain railway rescue operation.
“Tschiertschen-Praden would disappear from the map of winter sports resorts after over 70 years of operation.
There is no Plan B for this scenario,”
Spiegel
quotes a leaflet from Hans-Peter Walser, a villager, who called on locals to take part in the fundraising campaign “as far as they are personally able.”
Alpine ski areas on the brink of extinction: operations are in danger of being shut down
The fundraising campaign was a complete success.
Instead of the required 600,000 Swiss francs, around 1.2 million Swiss francs were raised in the end.
Private individuals and companies took part.
Like Tschiertschen, other mountain villages that have to fight for their existence as ski areas are also in the same situation.
According to
Spiegel,
more than 42 percent of the approximately 545 ski areas had to cease operations by the end of the 2022 winter season.
This is due to a lack of snowfall and a lack of financing options.
The lack of snow also threatens the ski areas in other Alpine countries such as France.
With the donations, operations in Tschiertschen could now be secured for ten years.
Things look different in the Hochwang recreation and ski area, as the ski area informs on its website.
Hochwang needs around 800,000 Swiss francs by the end of April 2024 to ensure the continued existence of the sports track.
Ski companies are also in danger in Austria.
(vk)