Travel
Not enough snow or visitors: Another French ski resort is forced to close for good
Residents of Grand Puy, France, voted to shutter the ski lift after a lack of snow and visitors made it unviable.
As the weather cools down, many of us will be thinking of a trip to the slopes. However, thanks to the impact of climate change, more ski resorts are being forced to close for good.
In the small Alpine resort of Grand Puy, in Seyne-les-Alpes, France, a ‘télésiège’ – or chairlift – has been ferrying skiers up to an altitude of 1,800m for some 65 years.
Now, due to an increasingly frequent absence of snow and a lack of visitors, locals have voted to shutter the lift and the winter resort as a whole.
Seyne-les-Alpes, with a permanent population of just over 1,305, was making losses of hundreds of thousands of euros every year, according to the town council.
Locals were given the chance to vote on whether or not to keep the resort open and, in the end, 71 per cent chose to bring it to a close.
From 1 November, the lifts will stop running at Grand Puy and the community will instead focus on expanding the development of “activities independent of the ski lifts”.
A lack of snow is causing ski resort closures worldwide
Across Europe and the wider world, climate change is affecting a number of mid- to low-altitude ski resorts. Many now have no choice but to diversify and invest in all-season activities to attract visitors back and improve their economies.
During the ski season earlier in 2023, the popular French resort of Saint-Colomban-des-Villards had to stop its lifts running completely, after a significant lack of snow combined with temperatures climbing up to 13°C. The resort’s average February temperature is, in contrast, just over 4°C.
Grand Puy boasts more than 24 km of slopes, but has seen visitor numbers halve over the last decade.
During the 2013-14 season, officials recorded 17,000 skier days; in the same period from 2023-24, that figure was just 6,000.
“My aim is not to close Grand Puy, but I no longer want the resort to cost the municipality €350,000 a year and prevent us from investing in the town as a whole,” says Laurent Pascal, the mayor of Seyne.
Local reports say that the small town had taken out a loan of €2 million in order to run and maintain the lifts. In the end, the mayor took advice from a consultancy, which came up with seven potential scenarios relating to the future of the resort.
In the end, the preferred choice was full closure.
What is the future of the Grand Puy resort?
Locals were asked if they agreed to a plan to “sell all equipment (chairlifts, drag lifts, snow guns, snow groomers, etc.)” and “diversify activities with a self-financing budget of €150,000 over five years”.
The mayor and councillors say they hope they can recoup some €600,000 from the sale of the assets to expand their touristic offerings.
While some locals were fiercely opposed to the closure, with a number saying the lift could be repurposed for year-round activities, a majority agreed it was for the best.
The mayor insisted that the replacements will consist of “sports and nature activities that respect the environment”.
Although it’s not yet clear exactly what these will be, there have been discussions on, variously, electric-assisted mountain bike trails and the turning of a reservoir into a fishing lake.
What impact is climate change having on ski resorts?
Grand Puy is not the only resort which has decided it must close before the season has even begun.
In the French Alpine resort of Le Grand Serre, officials announced the end of subsidies for ski activities, despite the fact it’s been in operation for some 85 years.
It’s thought that around 200 jobs will be lost, but there was no choice but to call an end to operations, especially given that the local government had injected €2.7 million into the resort over the past seven years, something that is now untenable.
Geographer Pierre-Alexandre Metral discovered that more than 180 ski resorts have closed in France since the 1970s, many of which are small, family-run operations.
Especially in recent years, these shutterings have increasingly been down to climate change.
In 2023, the French resort of La Sambuy also closed after a shortage of snow, with local officials confirming that ski lifts would be dismantled, despite the fact that the resort continued to attract summer visitors.
“Between the 1960s and today, the climate has changed greatly. Now, there is less snow in the winter,” Jacques Dalex, the local mayor, told Europe 1 radio at the time of the announcement. “This year, we opened for only four weeks, that’s it. The season is getting shorter and shorter, and obviously, it is not going to get any better.”
While the majority of the closed resorts are in lower or mid-mountain areas, climate change also poses a severe threat to those at higher altitudes.
At resorts across France, Austria and Bosnia, owners have been forced to make use of artificial snow.
That practice actually causes more climate-related issues, as it uses huge amounts of water and energy every time it’s created.
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By Euronews Travel
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Norway is set to become the latest European destination to introduce a tourist tax to combat concerns about rising visitor numbers.
Lawmakers approved the new levy on Thursday, which allows municipalities to introduce a 3 per cent tax on overnight stays in “areas particularly affected by tourism”.
The law allows local authorities to apply the tax at their own discretion, and it will be added to accommodation charges. Authorities will also be allowed to adjust the percentage based on the season.
The funds raised by the tax will be used exclusively to improve tourism infrastructure projects that benefit both visitors and local people. Municipalities will have to demonstrate that their facilities are inadequate and have their plans approved by the government to spend the funds.
Cecilie Myrseth, Norway’s minister of trade and industry, said on social media that her government had reached a “historic agreement” to introduce a tourism tax that was “in line with what they have in the rest of Europe”.
The country is the latest in a string of European nations introducing or increasing visitor levies to tackle the growing problem of overtourism. A tax may also be applied to cruise ships that make stops in the country, particularly in areas that are most affected by overtourism.
Norway is experiencing a tourism boom
As tourists increasingly choose cooler, northern European destinations to get away from the heat, Norway has experienced a boom in visitor numbers.
Last year, a record-breaking 38.6 million people booked accommodation in the country. That includes more than 12 million overnight stays by foreign tourists – a 4.2 per cent increase from 2023.
Some previously quiet destinations have been overwhelmed, like the Lofoten islands, where eye-catching images of hiking trails posted on social media have led to an influx of visitors. With a population of 24,500 people distributed across several small towns and villages, keeping up with the cost of all these new visitors has been hard.
A recent survey by industry organisation Norwegian Tourism Partners found that 77 per cent of people in Tromsø, in northern Norway above the Arctic Circle, thought there were too many tourists there. Visitors have been drawn by the Northern Lights, wildlife excursions, Sami cultural experiences and what the city itself has to offer.
The increase in tourism has caused tension with local residents across Norway as infrastructure has struggled to keep up with the boom. Facilities like public toilets and car parks have been overwhelmed in popular destinations.
Some residents have even reported cases of people using their back gardens as toilets, and bemoaned the increased traffic clogging up Norway’s roads.
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As millions of holidaymakers prepare to head to the Canary Islands this summer, authorities have issued a wildfire pre-alert across the archipelago.
The warning, announced by the General Directorate of Emergencies on Sunday, applies to tourist hotspots El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
It comes as the islands enter a high-risk fire period following the wet season, as hot, dry winds known as the ‘calima’ begin blowing in from the Sahara Desert.
Fires are common, but they haven’t slowed tourism
The risk of wildfire is nothing new for the Canary Islands.
The volcanic terrain, Mediterranean climate and fire-adapted vegetation – plants that have evolved to thrive in fire-prone environments – make them susceptible to summer blazes, and scientists say wildfires are part of the archipelago’s ecological rhythm.
Some of the worst occurred in 2023, when forest fires ravaged Tenerife, destroying more than 15,000 hectares of land and forcing 12,000 people to evacuate. The blaze was later found to have been started by arsonists.
This year, officials are urging tourists and locals alike to take extreme caution, warning against launching fireworks near forests and discarding cigarettes on dry ground.
But even as the fire warnings roll in, the Canaries’ appeal shows no signs of slowing down.
In 2024, the islands welcomed nearly 18 million tourists, including a record-breaking 15.5 million international arrivals. Among them, British travellers led the way, recording 6.3 million visits – up 500,000 from 2023.
Concerns about overtourism mount amid record arrivals
While the Canary Islands continue to attract record numbers of tourists, residents are increasingly voicing concerns about overtourism.
In April 2024, tens of thousands of islanders participated in protests, holding signs that read “the Canary Islands have a limit” while rallying against rising housing costs, environmental damage and the strain on public services.
Over Easter this year, about 80,000 hospitality workers in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierrowalked out in a dispute with unions over pay.
The surge in short-term rentals has been especially contentious. Locals have reported getting priced out of their neighbourhoods as properties are converted into holiday lets, the cost of living soars and wages stagnate.
Despite these concerns, tourism remains a significant part of the Canary Islands’ economy, accounting for approximately 35 per cent of its GDP.
Tenerife still reigns supreme
After welcoming seven million tourists in 2024, Tenerife remains the most visited island.
Its year-round sunshine and wide beaches keep it a firm favourite among families, especially during the UK’s summer school break and throughout the winter months.
As the peak summer season picks up, local tourism boards have made no indication that the fire pre-alerts will disrupt travel plans.
But authorities remain focused on prevention this year.
More than 2,000 firefighters are on standby. Meanwhile, the government has distributed detailed safety advice, urging people to prepare a go-bag, stay informed and follow emergency evacuation or shelter-in-place instructions if fires erupt.
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Travel
Violent turbulence hits Ryanair flight in Germany, forcing an emergency landing and injuring 9
By Euronews Travel with AP
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Severe storms in southern Germany forced a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing late Wednesday after violent turbulence injured nine people on board, German police said in a statement Thursday.
The flight, travelling from Berlin to Milan with 179 passengers and six crew members, encountered turbulence so intense around 8:30 pm that the pilot was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Memmingen Airport in Bavaria.
Eight passengers and one crew member were hurt.
Three people were taken to the hospital in Memmingen for treatment; the other injured people were released after receiving outpatient treatment. As a precaution, all passengers were checked for injuries by the emergency services.
Authorities did not permit the plane to continue flying, and the airline arranged bus transport for passengers. Milan is about 380 kilometres south of Memmingen.
More bad weather expected in Germany
Elsewhere in the region, storms damaged several homes in Ulm, Baden-Württmberg, according to the German news agency dpa.
In the Donaustetten district, strong winds tore roofs off multiple row houses, rendering them uninhabitable, though no injuries were reported. Fire officials suspect a small tornado or waterspout caused the damage. The German Weather Service (DWD) is investigating, according to dpa.
Storm-related emergency calls also came from other areas in southern Germany, where damage was mostly limited to fallen trees and flooded basements.
The DWD warned of further storms on Thursday, 5 June, with hail, strong winds, and localised heavy rain expected.
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