Parts of the Alps got over a metre of snow last weekend, but will Irish holidaymakers get to ski Europe’s slopes this winter?
Once Covid forced ski resorts to close back in March, and Ischgl in Austria’s Tyrol got singled out as a “superspreader”, this season was under threat. So far, at least one operator (Hotelplan/Inghams in the UK) has cancelled all departures until February. Others have gone out of business. The rest hope they can survive this season to rebuild for ’21/22.
Switzerland will open its resorts, but those in Austria, France, Italy, Germany and Andorra will not open to international visitors until January. Austrian ski-resort hotels and restaurants will stay shut until January 7, while ski lifts at French resorts may not begin to operate until January 20.