Italy would not open its ski slopes

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

On Sunday, the Italian government suddenly delayed on opening the much loved ski season of Italy due a detection of coronavirus variant in a good number of recently infected persons in the country.

Health Minister, Roberto Speranza’s ordinance prohibiting amateur skiing until March 5th successfully destroys all hopes of ski lift operators and resort owners that they would recover partially of the season. In Italy, ski business is a major source of income during winter tourism and this sad news came just on the eve of the expected opening.

A statement from the ministry noted that analyses of virus samples showed a variant that was first found in Britain, sickening 17.8% of recently infected people in Italy. France and Germany have taken on similar steps in the ski sector because of the “worry for the spread of this and other variants of the virus,” the statement said.

The industry related to ski mourned that they had prepared slopes and lifts, only to have been denied permission to open, including just before the year-end holidays.

The day-old government of Premier Mario Draghi has however assured to compensate the sector for their financial losses.

Also, Speranza was the health minister in the previous government. The minister was advised by a commission of technical and scientific experts about what activities can be safely allowed during efforts to rein in COVID-19 contagion.

« Back to Page

• Germany puts visa rejection appeals on hold for Türkiye, China and Morocco

• Macau imposes stringent COVID-19 rules

• Outbound Chinese tourists travel sees huge drop in post pandemic

• Tourism in Cologne: Recovery and normalisation in the 2nd half of 2021

• More than 5,000 flights have been cancelled worldwide this Christmas weekend