-
Changing a Mountain Resort into a Year-Round Destination- By Salomé Boitelle-
Image Credit Unsplash + The Impact of Climate Modification on Ski Resorts: Why Need To Winter Destinations Transform Themselves and Their Company Designs
Because decades now, worldwide warming has led to lowered snow coverage, particularly at low and medium altitudes, threatening the main activity of ski resorts. Vail Resorts, a popular ski area in The United States and Canada, faced a 8% decline in visits during the 2023-24 ski season due to a yearly 28% decline in snowfall (Rachel Yalof, 2025).
Nowadays, resorts are massively depending on alpine snowboarding and winter tourism earnings. For that reason, much shorter seasons and pricey synthetic snow, are making the financial design unsustainable. In Europe, 75% of glaciers in the French Alps could disappear by 2050 (Stanislas Bourron (ANCT), 2024). In 25 years, even with using artificial snow, the season might be minimized from 14 to 33 days (positive scenario) and up to 62 days (downhearted scenario) (Innsbruck University, 2024). The US ski industry has actually currently lost $5 billion between 2000 and 2019 due to climate modification. If no adaptation measures are taken, the yearly decrease might reach $1 billion by the 2050s (Rachel Yalof, 2025).
However, snowmaking facilities are not a sustainable service either, as they consume important quantity of water and energy, at a time when environmental pressures are magnifying. Indeed, winter season tourism generates a huge eco-friendly footprint, and it is now ending up being necessary to decrease this impact. In some resorts, the variety of winter visitors is already on the decline, threatening both regional work and local appeal.
Solutions and Strategies to Change Ski Resorts into Year-Round Traveler Destinations
In response to the dangers postured by climate modification, resorts are diversifying their tourist offering by establishing summer season and mid-season activities such as hiking, mountain biking, accrobranching parks, medspas and wellness. Additionally, sustainable and eco-responsible tourist is acquiring appeal.
In addition, significant investments are being made to develop facilities and improve ski lifts to accommodate cyclists and hikers alike. In addition, a growing number of cultural and sporting events– such as festivals, path competitors and mountain bike races– are being arranged to draw in visitors out of season.
Finally, there has been a genuine shift in state of mind when it pertains to the environment, and a growing number of resorts are going green. For instance, the “Net Zero 2030” objective of some resorts, such as Big Sky, calls for a 50% reduction in carbon emissions over 6 years (Tessa Crowley, 2024). “The time to make essential and immediate environment action is here,” promotes Jeremy Jones, founder of the climate-conscious nonprofit, “Safeguard Our Winters.”
In some nations, such as Austria, mountain tourism is growing, offseting the much shorter winter. According to a current federal government survey, over a quarter of travelers now head to Austria during the summer season only for cycling. This is a growing enthusiasm that is causing an increase in bike sales, with over 500,000 bikes offered in 2022, and for that reason marking a 15% jump given that 2019 (Kevin Eagan, 2024).
How can a community get financing and change its area to save local tourism?
To protect their resorts, a great deal of local associations and committees have been established to structure meaningful, attractive jobs. Cuchara Mountain Park is a ski resort handled by its community in Colorado, USA. After over twenty years of being closed (leading to a decrease in local tourist), it has been able to reopen, thanks to the community’s efforts and state subsidies, initially partly in 2022, then for a full season in 2023.
Indeed, in 2016, the Cuchara Foundation raised $150,000 to acquire 50 acres of land and donate it to Huerfano County (Ken Clayton, 2024). Panadero Ski Corporation then received $250,000 from the Colorado State Outdoor Recreation Grant, helping to restore the resort (Ken Clayton, 2024). Colorado State Outdoor Recreation Grant (COSORG) is a program, supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration State Tourism Grant, that has actually granted over $3.7 million to 49 jobs in 27 counties, generating 413 direct jobs and benefiting hundreds more indirectly (Colorado Workplace of Economic Development and International Trade, 2024).
We can concur with Eve Lieberman, executive director of the Colorado Workplace of Economic Advancement and International Trade, when he affirms: “When community-based recreation locations prosper, local economies do, too,” as the resort now provides cost effective skiing, stimulates the local economy and promotes access to leisure activities for all.
The Queenstown example: A city where community and state collaborate to make sure long-term success
Considering that the 1950s, Queenstown has actually become a leading destination in adventure tourism and visitors have been drawn to its alpine landscapes since. So much so that, before the COVID-19 crisis, Queenstown created 39% of its GDP from tourist, and it represented 52% of all employment in 2020 (Queenstown, N., 2025). Drawing over 3 million visitors every year, the city produced $3.1 billion in sales in 2019 (Queenstown, N., 2025).
Covid occurred, and New Zealand closed its borders. The space in company gave Queenstown the chance to stop briefly and review what a brighter future might hold. There has been a collective action to the crisis. After opening conversations with the neighborhood, goals were set to achieve a sustainable long-lasting vision. According to Mat Woods, CEO of Location Queenstown, “Queenstown’s objective to be carbon absolutely no by 2030 has actually caught the creativity of this neighborhood. Even though the decarbonization strategy is only one of 23 different projects from the region’s location management plan, it has galvanized people to take a look at the entire regenerative tourist plan.”
This is proof of the general public’s desire to promote eco-friendly tourism, with a strong emphasis on natural heritage and regional produce. The town successfully integrated public financial investment and personal initiatives to ensure well balanced tourist development, with the aim of broadening the city’s activities, motivating the production of a medical center, and aiming to bring in a wide variety of different organizations. All these developments are making Queenstown ever more appealing and boosting the economy. Today, Queenstown has actually become a worldwide example of the successful shift to four-season tourism, showing that this change is possible.
Salomé Boitelle
MGH Trainee, University of Houston
Salomé Boitelle is a Master of Worldwide Hospitality Management trainee at the University of Houston. Initially from France, she currently resides in Verbier, Switzerland– a distinguished ski resort that sparked her enthusiasm for the Alpine environment and year-round mountain sports. Her deep connection to nature was more reinforced during a life-changing five-month trek along New Zealand’s 3,000 km Te Araroa Trail. This experience sparked her commitment to environmental conservation and environment awareness, specifically in susceptible mountain areas. Through her writing and research, Salomé aims to highlight the impact of climate modification on ski resorts and supporter for sustainable, adaptive solutions.
Sources
Dependence, Attachment, Opposition: The Transition of Ski Resorts. A Case Study of the Southern Alps– Hatt, É., & Claeys, C. (2024 ). Revue De Géographie Alpine, 112– 1.
The Transition of the Mountains’ Financial Model Seen Through the Prism of Local Financial Resources and Tax: New Paths to Be Opened?– Coutin, E. (2024, May 17). Cahier Des Tendances Montagne [S]
TranStat– Alpine Space Programme (2025, April 3).
Kosovo 60 mln Euro Ski Resort Job Draws Foreign Interest– SeeNews.
Our Story– Shames My Mountain Co-op|Ski and Board in Northern BC– My Mountain Co-op (n.d.).
A $250,000 State Grant Helped Bring Snowboarding Back to Cuchara Mountain Park– Bliss, A. (2024, December 13). Westword.
Increasing Access to Colorado’s Iconic Slopes: Polis Administration Supports Reopening of Cuchara Mountain Park in Huerfano County– Colorado Workplace of Economic Development and International Trade (2024, December 9).
How Queenstown is Altering Tourist for Good– Queenstown, N. (2025, February 19).
Reinventing Queenstown: Could It End up being NZ’s Silicon Valley?– Things (n.d.).
The Impact of Climate Modification on the United States Ski Market– Yalof, R. (2025, February 25). Earth.Org.
US Ski Industry Suffered a $5 Billion Hit from Climate Change– (2024, February 28). University of Innsbruck.
The Impact of Environment Modification as needed of Ski Tourist– A Simulation Study Based Upon Stated Preferences– ScienceDirect.
Environment Modification in Mountain Locations: Fulfilling the Obstacle of Adapting Water Management and Tourist– Andriot, P., Laurent, M., Ghib, M.-L., ANCT, et al. (2023 ).
Is Environment Modification Forcing Ski Resorts into a Year-Round Reinvention?– Crowley, W. B. T. (2024, October 4). ROADBOOK.
Mountain Resorts and Environment Change– Thematic Public Report– Financial Jurisdictions (2024 ).
Climate Modification: How Alpine Ski Resorts Are Adapting to the End of the ‘White Gold’ Period– Alexandrowicz, L. (2024, December 9). Euronews.
Can Development Save the Ski Industry?– HIM Organization School (n.d.).
Summertime Hiking and Mountain Cycling vs. Snowboarding in Austria– Eagan, K. (2024, July 26). TourismReview.
Opportunities and Drawbacks for Alpine Tourism Under Environment Change– Environment Science (n.d.).
blog site competitors winter season destinations