Chamonix

Slides 2009

Slides 2010

GENERAL FACTS

Alpine Nations • Switzerland • Liechtenstein • France • Germany • Austria • Slovenia • Italy
 * 200 km at an average height of 1700m
 * 12% of world’s tourists go to the Alps per year
 * C. 80 million people visitors per year **to** c.16 million resident population
 * Ratio 5:1 of tourists to residents


 * Ski season: December to April (depending on the snow)

IMPACTS ON HOSTS Short Term All these factors impact both the host and the visitors


 * ** Negatives ** || ** Positives ** ||
 * SOCIAL and ECONOMIC ||
 * Stress on services
 * Transportation


 * Water
 * Water stress – hydro power, drinking water

§ Heating § Lighting § Snowmobiles § Artificial snow § Lifts
 * Electricity
 * Health care
 * Avalanche years vary
 * Avalanches 90% of avalanches that kill skiers are caused by skiers themselves
 * Popular “free-riding” beyond the designated pistes causes avalanches
 * Ski injuries

Pictures: avalanche, free-riding ||  || Statistics for seasonal work || * Brings seasonal work || Pollution in area ||  ||
 * * Only bring seasonal work
 * * Seasonal pollution

Long Term (unaffordable to local population)
 * ** Negatives ** || ** Positives ** ||
 * ECONOMIC ||
 * Increase in prices, inflation
 * Rising prices of chalets (can be above 1 million euros) || Income to area

Prices of ski tickets, chalets, holiday (+packages) || Decrease in snowfall
 * Increased economic growth – (eventually may lead to great decreases)
 * Austria – half tourism income is from skiing and 4.5 of national economy
 * Eventual decrease in industry
 * Number of ski resorts could fall from 666 to 400 by 2050 || * Multiplier effect ||
 * Olympic games || * Creating frequently used areas ||
 * ENVIRONMENTAL ||
 * Pollution
 * Noise, air (partly due to trucks traveling through the Alps: tunnels)
 * Littering – buried under the snow (orange peal disintegration)
 * Destruction of flora and fauna – going off trail (some places are more strict than others)
 * Decline in bird life marked in Jan 2007 by //Journal of Applied Biology// ||  ||
 * Increase in Global Temperatures
 * Temperature increases
 * 4 degrees = ½ snow reliable slopes
 * 1 degree – reduce natural snow by 10%
 * Snowfall decrease examples:
 * 20% in last 30 years for Italy
 * 30 – 50 years, Australia’s snow businesses will be gone
 * Snowline could rise in Alps by 300m over next 5 decades – UN Environmental Program
 * Moving further up the mountain & using pristine areas

Melting Glaciers 1850 – 4,474 sq km 2000 – 2,272 sq km
 * (2006) World Glacier Monitoring Service said Alps could lose ¾ of glaciers in next century due to climate change
 * Glaciated area:

||  || || Statistics ||   ||
 * Artificial Snow
 * Large costs of artificial snow production (large use of water, capital, and power)
 * Used since 1996
 * Puts chemicals into natural ecosystem
 * Temperatures must be about -2C in dry air and -10 to -15C in wet air
 * Adds c. 1 month to the life of a piste
 * One hectare for a season requires: c.4,000 cubic m of water 25,000 kilowatts of energy 150,000 euros
 * 1999-2000 season, 10 million cubic m were used to generate artificial snow in France = water demands of 170,000 people
 * Artificial snow uses same amount of water as 1.5 million people each year
 * ½ water comes from build mountain reservoirs
 * 1/3 come from rivers
 * The rest from drinking-water supplies ||  ||
 * * Avalanches caused by skiers ||  ||
 * SOCIO-CULTURAL ||
 * * Hostility between the tourists and hosts, dislike towards tourists || * Increased development infrastructure, transport, hotels…
 * development of other tourist activities (from receding snows and increase in global temperatures)
 * Only ½ people visiting the Alps actually ski or snowboard every day ||
 * * Less attention paid to historical sights and tourism (may now be changing) ||
 * * Foreigners buying out residence ||  ||
 * * Cold Bed Phenomenon
 * 13,700 m^2 building rights sold to Canadian company – most bought by British
 * POLITICAL ||
 * * Lack government control – local companies and changing elected officials
 * Private ownerships ||  ||

ADDITIONAL IMPACTS ON VISITORS Short Term – Seasonal
 * More crowded – more competition to be the ‘first skier of the day’ and to the lifts
 * Encourages “free-riding”
 * Worse skiing (decreased snow conditions)

Long Term
 * ** Negative ** || ** Positive ** ||
 * * More expensive skiing || * Increased fitness (winter activity) ||
 * * Have to travel farther and higher to reach good ski conditions || * Introduction to new activities (nature tourism, historical tourism?) ||
 * * False impressions – from artificial snow and covering up of garbage || * Air travel – shorter, quicker travel ||
 * * Media’s role in industry || * Diversity in skiing – more options ||
 * * The activity may be dying out ||  ||

EUROPE
 * Threatened water supply
 * Their greatest water source is being used irrationally
 * Threatened hydropower