Journal of Sustainable Tourism
Editors: Bill Bramwell (Sheffield Hallam University) and Bernard Lane (Visiting Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam University)
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Volume: 5 Number: 1 Page: 46–58
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Impacts of Climate Change on Winter Tourism in the Swiss Alps
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Urs Koenig and Bruno Abegg
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This paper examines the impacts of three consecutive snow-deficient winters at the end of the 1980s on the winter tourism industry in Switzerland. It is shown that ski areas in lower areas suffered severe
consequences. Ski areas at higher altitudes (in particular glacier ski resorts) on the other hand increased their transport figures and therefore profited from the lack of snow in lower areas. The snow-reliability
of all Swiss ski fields under current climate conditions and under a 2"C warming are investigated. Under current climate conditions 85% of all Swiss ski areas are snow-reliable. This number would drop to
63% if temperatures were to rise by 2"C. This is likely to threaten the regionally balanced economic growth which winter tourism has provided. Possible strategies for the winter tourism industry to adopt
if climate change occurs are presented.
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