Alpine Resorts Research Articles

Manzaneda in the generational model of french alpine resorts: an interpretation of the only ski resort in Galicia (Spain)

Mountain-based tourism has been established in multiple ways, and a ski resort is just one of them. Most European snow tourism research has focused on the Alps, where a French Alpine model of generations of ski resorts, which uses the differential urban development of each generation as a marker, has been developed academically. This model has been used as a framework for this study with the goal of positioning Manzaneda within it. However, Manzaneda is the only winter resort in Galicia (Spain), and with more than 50 years of history, it seems to have had a controversial, problematic, and ambiguous development. This article also looks into the management, the effects of climate change, and the future visions of the winter resort by its main actors and local population.

Diversification and transition in French Alpine resorts

ABSTRACT Alpine resorts in France experienced a sharp drop in visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic although, subsequently, they have largely recovered. However, this downturn in activity provided the opportunity to reflect on a series of underlying structural issues affecting the long-term viability of such resorts. Diversification has become a key element of development strategies, as has the need to engage in a ‘tourism transition’.

Relationship between Lower Extremity Fitness Levels and Injury Risk among Recreational Alpine Skiers: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Although the importance of physical fitness for injury prevention is recognized in sports medicine and rehabilitation, few studies have investigated this factor among recreational alpine skiers. Objective: To determine the effect of lower extremity fitness on the risk and severity of injury among recreational alpine skiers. Method: This prospective cohort study involved 117 recreational skiers at two alpine resorts during the 2021–2022 winter season. Anthropometric characteristics, skiing skills, and lower extremity agility (hexagon test), balance (Y-Balance Test), and endurance (60-s squat test) were assessed before the winter season. All of the participants were divided into an injured group and an uninjured group, based on whether an injury was recorded throughout the season. Results: In binary logistic regression, the hexagon test duration and composite Y-Balance Test score were significant injury risk factors (p < 0.05). Ordinal polytomous logistic regression revealed no significant factors for injury severity (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Recreational alpine skiers with inferior lower extremity agility or balance may have a higher injury risk and this must be considered when assessing individual risk. In the context of injury prevention, regular neuromuscular training and testing, including agility and balance aspects should be recommended to skiers.

Activist Surfing-based Groups in the Tourism Transition: Localism and Universalism in the French Basque Country

The concept of tourism transition was developed in the 1990s and 2000s by scholars working on winter sports in Alpine resorts. It refers to the economic and social changes taking place in relatively small resort towns as the result of tourism development. While mountain tourism causes conflicts between stakeholder groups, this paper demonstrates that tourism in seaside resort towns can also be a source of controversy. In coastal cities of the French Basque Country, tourism development is primarily managed by local government representatives, yet contested by pressure groups. This paper analyzes the two activist groups Save Marbella (SMG) and Paddle-out For Your Planet (POFYP), founded by surfers in Biarritz, France. It is based on observation of and interviews with SMG and POFYP members. Whilst acknowledging the difference between these two groups, this work indicates that surfers’ environmental activism often comes from their subjective and intimate relationship with the ocean. This paper argues that participants’ emotional bond with nature fosters environmental awareness and that their intimate relationship with the ocean is the primary cause of political activism. As surfers report facing fear, disgust and anxiety when they encounter ocean pollution and environmental degradation resulting from mass tourism, research has also shown that they feel compelled to protest and demand that policymakers include their considerations in democratic decision-making processes.

Case Study on Developing a Comprehensive Voluntary Environmental Performance and Process Standard for Alpine Resorts Using Four Business Management Principles

In 2018, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) in Teton Village, WY, USA, discontinued its International Standards Organization 14001 environmental management system. JHMR needed a replacement voluntary environmental program (VEP) that would empower resort employees to directly mitigate climate change, reduce waste and pollution, minimize water use, and restore biodiversity, along with improving building, education, and purchasing. I developed the Model for Alpine Resort Sustainability (MARS) based on 2 research objectives of improving existing industry-specific VEPs and empowering employees to directly mitigate resort environmental impacts through their work. MARS involves 4 business management principles: (1) use ski industry-specific criteria to drive accountability comprehensively across 25 resort departments; (2) quantify greenhouse gas emissions, using both absolute and intensity or normalized bases, and apply quantification to solid waste production and water consumption; (3) employ modern management techniques and software to focus on action over documentation; and (4) strategically align with the core business objective of alpine resorts to provide profitable outdoor recreation by decreasing costs and increasing revenues. MARS provides the most comprehensive, research-based accounting to date of alpine resort environmental impacts and mitigation indicators. MARS could be applied to larger resorts receptive to change.

Italy's first ONB Alpine colonia climatica: more than fresh air, exercise, and propaganda?

AbstractBy the end of the 1930s in Italy, ambitious winter and summer camps or colonie cimatiche for the young had been erected along Italy's coastline and in its Alpine resorts. Here, thousands of Italian children from the country's urban centres were sent to experience a regime of fresh air, exercise and Fascist propaganda. The small village of Fai in the autonomous province of Trento in the Italian Alps was home to the first such Alpine colonia managed by the Italian Fascist youth organisation, the Opera Nazionale Balilla. Through an examination of a range of contemporary Italian publications, this article will reveal how the Alpine colonia climatica went beyond its official remit of ‘climatic assistance to childhood’. It offers evidence of the Fascist regime's exploitation of these establishments in newly-annexed Trentino as a tool to unify and italianise, and argues that they were used to promote a militarised view of the national landscape.

Re-inventing tourism areas: what form of transition in Alpine resorts?

This issue features articles focusing on different aspects of the transition which is currently under way in mountain resorts. In general terms, this transition process appeared when the combined effects of climate change and social change began to gather pace, impacting the trajectories of tourism areas both in mountain areas and elsewhere. After an introduction exploring the application of the concept of transition to tourism from a territorial perspective, we will present an overview of th...

How Can Ski Resorts Get Smart? Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainable Winter Tourism in the European Alps

Climate change and the call for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the efficient use of (renewable) energy, and more resilient winter tourism regions, forces ski resorts across the European Alps to look for “smart” approaches to transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Drawing on the smart-city concept and considering the different historical developments of Alpine resorts, the Smart Altitude Decision-Making Toolkit was developed using a combination of an energy audit tool, a WebGIS, and collaborative and innovative living labs installed in Les Orres (France), Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), Krvavec (Slovenia), and Verbier (Switzerland). This step-by-step Decision-Making Toolkit enables ski resorts to get feedback on their energy demand, an overview of the locally available sources of renewable energy, and insights regarding their potential for improving their energy efficiency by low-carbon interventions. The Decision-Making Toolkit is suitable for knowledge transfer between stakeholders within living labs and moreover provides the flexibility for tailor-made low-carbon strategies adapting to the unique assets and situatedness of ski resorts.

Regression‐type models for extremal dependence

AbstractWe propose a vector generalized additive modeling framework for taking into account the effect of covariates on angular density functions in a multivariate extreme value context. The proposed methods are tailored for settings where the dependence between extreme values may change according to covariates. We devise a maximum penalized log‐likelihood estimator, discuss details of the estimation procedure, and derive its consistency and asymptotic normality. The simulation study suggests that the proposed methods perform well in a wealth of simulation scenarios by accurately recovering the true covariate‐adjusted angular density. Our empirical analysis reveals relevant dynamics of the dependence between extreme air temperatures in two alpine resorts during the winter season.

The spectrum of pediatric injuries sustained in snow sports

BackgroundSnow sports are popular among children but carry the potential for significant injury. Head injuries are less common than fractures and sprains but may be fatal. Helmets are recommended for all snow sports, and yet their effectiveness remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate the spectrum of injuries sustained at three large alpine resorts and to assess the effect of helmet usage on injury severity. MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected pediatric trauma data (2005–2015) from the three largest alpine resorts in our state. Data were analyzed using Spearman's correlation, chi-square, and odds ratio. ResultsA total of 6299 incidents were reviewed. Skiers accounted for 3821 (60.7%) patients, while snowboarders accounted for 2422 (38.5%) patients. More than half (53.5%) of the injuries were related to falls, predominantly affecting knees in skiers and wrists in snowboarders. Overall, helmet usage decreased with age (p<0.001), though helmet uptake was positively associated with higher level of ability in both skiers and snowboarders (p<0.001). Concussions in both skiers and snowboarders were inversely correlated with the rates of helmet usage (p<0.05). ConclusionHelmet usage was associated with reduced rates of concussion. However, helmet usage decreased with age. We advocate for promotion of helmet usage, using mandatory guidelines, across all pediatric age groups. Level of evidenceLevel II – Retrospective study.

Hotels and sanatoria: the influence of tuberculosis on mass tourism architecture

The aim of this article is to verify the influence of tuberculosis on mass tourism architecture. To achieve this, the paper analyses the typological evolution of the hotel since the middle of the nineteenth century, when the first sanatoria appeared in the alpine resorts. A study that creates links between the progress in architecture and the medical therapy advances. The goal is to highlight the hybridisation process between both architectural typologies. Although this overlapping is developed until the Second World War, the influence of its mixture is still present in contemporary mass tourism architecture.

Helmet use and risk of head injuries in alpine skiers and snowboarders: changes after an interval of one decade

BackgroundIn a previous study, we concluded that a safety helmet can reduce the risk for head injury by 60%. Other studies reported similar effects, resulting in a general recommendation to...

The impacts of ski resorts on reptiles: a natural experiment

Alpine–subalpine areas are sensitive environments that support large numbers of endemic species. They are also popular for human recreation. Increasing demands for tourism means that infrastructure in alpine resorts is expanding. Consequently, habitat is being modified and fragmented, potentially adversely affecting fauna. However, research investigating the effects of ski resorts on wildlife, particularly reptiles, is limited, and the effectiveness of management strategies in mitigating adverse impacts is unknown. To quantify the effects of ski-related disturbances on specialist and generalist reptile species, we surveyed sites in disturbed and undisturbed subalpine habitats. We also examined vegetation composition and habitat structure to determine whether structural or compositional habitat features were driving patterns of reptile occurrence. Our results indicate that the effects of ski-related disturbance varied between species, but that adverse effects – particularly on ski runs – were more pronounced for specialists. Given that each species studied was positively associated with compositional or structural features of the environment, we argue that alterations to these habitat attributes when creating ski runs will suppress lizard abundances in these areas. However, while ski runs have an adverse effect on reptiles, the persistence of these animals in ski resorts can be facilitated by retaining habitat structure and minimizing disturbance to native vegetation.

The sensitivity of winter tourism to exchange rate changes: Evidence for the Swiss Alps

This paper investigates the impact of the appreciation of the Swiss franc on international tourism in Swiss Alpine resorts, city and lake destinations using annual data for winter seasons 2007/2008 to 2010/2011. Using median regression models, we find that the nominal and real appreciation of the Swiss franc has a large and significantly negative impact on international tourism demand in Alpine destinations during winter months. The elasticities of the relative price (to those of competing countries) range between −3.0 for foreign hotel nights and −2.1 for foreign hotel arrivals. In contrast, the real exchange rate effect is much lower in absolute terms for city and lake destinations. The results are not sensitive with respect to different measures of international tourism demand (arrivals, hotel nights and the length of stay). Income elasticities are also significant and large with values of two and higher. In general, these findings are robust to alternative estimation methods (i.e., median regression, robust regression method and ordinary least squares in first differences).

Risk factors for injuries in alpine skiing, telemark skiing and snowboarding – case-control study

BackgroundAlpine skiing and snowboarding have a substantial risk of injuries, but precise risk factor estimates are limited.ObjectiveTo determine the risk factors among skiers and snowboarders.Study designCase-control study.MethodsSki patrols reported cases...

Relationship between tourism demand in the Swiss Alps and hot summer air temperatures associated with climate change

We quantified the impacts of hot summer air temperatures on tourism in the Swiss Alps by analysing the relationship between temperature and overnight stays in 40 Alpine resorts. Several temperature thresholds were tested to detect the relationship between them and summer tourism. Our results reveal significant correlations between the number of nights spent in mountain resorts and hot temperatures at lower elevations. The relationship between hot temperatures and overnight stays is more important in June and to a lesser extent in August than in July. This is probably because holidays and the peak of domestic tourist demand in summer usually take place between the beginning of July and mid-August so that long-term planned stays dominate more during these months compared to June. The alpine resorts nearest to cities are most affected by hot temperatures. This is probably because reactions to hot episodes take place on a short-term basis as heat waves remain relatively rare. Our results suggest that alpine tourist resorts could benefit from hotter temperatures at lower elevations under future climates. Tourists already react on a short-term basis to hot days and spend more nights in hotels in mountain resorts. If heat waves become more regular, it seems likely that tourists will choose to stay at alpine resorts more frequently and for longer periods.

Evaluation of the use of a GPS data-logging device in a snowsport environment

This research explores the usability of a GPS data-logging device designed for team-based sports as a mechanism for collecting data on snowsport participants’ temporal and spatial use of alpine resorts. Usability for participants was high, however there are a few issues for the research that were challenging, but the quality and quantity of data obtained outweighs any limitations identified. Thus the researchers believe that GPS Spi Elite is a useful resource for tracking snowsport participants’ temporal and spatial use of alpine resorts.

Effects of Recreational Cabins, Trails and Their Removal for Restoration of Reindeer Winter Ranges

Conservation efforts have secured the partial recovery of Europe's wild reindeer, although only in 24 separate fragments of their original range, now separated by resorts and roads. Full recovery of the original range will require restoration of migration routes across developed or disturbed areas. We analyzed distribution of around 3500 Rangifer tarandus tarandus (reindeer) during winters (1984–2005) in relation to 10 alpine resorts and prior to and following relocation of ski trails and cabins in Norway done to restore use of former habitat. Reindeer used areas within 15 km of resorts, which is less than expected based on the availability of habitat, most likely as a result of cross-country skiing activity surrounding the resorts, limiting their access to other ranges and historic migration corridors. Reindeer abundance declined and mean distance between reindeer groups and resorts increased with increasing resort size. No apparent habituation to resorts was observed during the 20-year study period. However, when ski trails and an associated tourist cabin were removed to restore access to historic habitat, reindeer moved into the area. No such change in reindeer distribution was observed in the 10 years preceding relocation, or at the other nine resorts where no such experiments were conducted. Regulation of human traffic, relocation of trails, and removal of infrastructure and cabins are apparently effective in restoring access to and use of historic ranges and migration routes. However, restoration of historic migration routes between ranges will likely require the removal of hundreds of recreational cabins in order to become effective.

Before and after Climate Change: The Snow Country in Australian Imaginaries

Before and after Climate Change: The Snow Country in Australian Imaginaries

The Impact of Housing Market Segmentation between Tourists and Residents on the Hedonic Price for Landscape Quality

Summary Market segmentation is an important issue when estimating the implicit price for an environmental amenity from a surrogate market like property. This paper tests the hypothesis of a segmentation of the housing market between tourists and residents and computes the implicit price for natural landscape quality in Swiss alpine resorts. The results show a clear segmentation between both groups of consumers, although tests also show that the estimated coefficient for landscape is similar in the tourists’ model and in the residents’. However, since the functional form is non linear, the nominal — rather than relative — value of a change in natural landscape quality is higher in the tourist housing market than in the residents’. Hence, considering the segmentation of the market between tourists and residents is essential in order to provide valid estimates of the nominal implicit price of natural landscape quality.