Climate Change and the Future of Winter Tourism in Slovenia

Matej Ogrin,Andraž Smolej,Matic Močnik,Darko Ogrin,Nastja Rodman,Gregor Bunčič,Rok Vengar

doi:10.21861/hgg.2011.73.01.14

Matej Ogrin, Andraž Smolej + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.21861/hgg.2011.73.01.14

Copy DOI

Abstract

Climate changes are affecting many activities in modern society all over the world. In Europe, the Alps are among the most affected regions, where rises in temperature and snow lines (Kohler, Maselli, 2009) and changed distribution of precipitation have already brought changes in society. Alpine tourism has undergone changes due to warmer and greener winters, so ski areas face lack of profit, some have even stopped operating, while others have changed their strategy and shifted their offer to all-year activities instead focusing only on winter (Vrtacnik Garbas, 2008). In Slovenia, most of the ski slopes lie at very low elevations compared with other Alpine countries, so most of these centres are even more endangered by global warming. The article focuses on climate trends in the Slovenian mountains, especially in the ski season months, from December to March.

Highlights

The Slovenian Alpine Region is situated on the outermost south-eastern part of the Alps
To what extent are these climate changes already reflected in the environmental parameters that are important for winter tourism? After the green winters in the late 1980s and the increasingly warm winters in the 1990s, what interests us today is to what extent the temperatures have already risen with regard to the past periods, what changes this will bring and, to extent to which the temperatures will rise in the future
The research has shown that there are many obvious changes in the depth of snow cover and temperatures in the months most appropriate for skiing, and that they confirm the predictions of global warming and the conditions for winter tourism in Slovenia becoming worse

Summary

Introduction

The Slovenian Alpine Region is situated on the outermost south-eastern part of the Alps. This influence can be felt above all in the winter. The climate of this area has gone through changes, which can be seen in rising temperatures (Ogrin D., 2003, Dolinar et al, 2010, Dolinar, Vertačnik, 2010). Another obvious change is the frequency of extreme weather, such as heavy rain, strong winds, storms and the like. The purpose of this article is to show the environmental trends in temperature and snow cover in the Slovenian Alps over the last 30 years in the context of climate change, with the emphasis on winter tourism

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion