With global attention on Italy for the Winter Olympics, new research highlights how environmental change and economic pressures are reshaping the future of skiing.
The winter sport is being quietly transformed by climate change, rising costs, and an overreliance on artificial snow produced by a small number of technology providers, researchers caution.
A study by the University of Oxford, King’s College London, and the University of Trento warns this model needs to be studied closely to understand the conditions upon which it can stay sustainable and create value for business stakeholders and Alpine communities.
Focusing on the Dolomites and surrounding Alpine regions in Italy – the global focal point for both snow machine innovation and adoption, and where the skiing has been taking place for the Winter Olympics – researchers conducted extensive interviews across the ski ecosystem.
They found that, as natural snowfall declines and dry seasons lengthen, resorts are increasingly turning to technology to minimise the uncertainty linked to global warming.
Lead author Professor Juliane Reinecke, Professor of Management Studies at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, said: “Technical snow-making is keeping the winter sports season alive – for now. Technology can compensate for missing snow up to a point. But beyond that point, no amount of innovation can stop snow from melting when temperatures rise.”
Co-author Professor Paolo Aversa, Professor of Strategy at King’s Business School, said: “Artificial snow, also called ‘technical snow’ by industry actors, is at the centre of a climate-innovation conundrum. It has allowed the industry to survive and to a certain extent thrive in the short term.
“But it has also delayed difficult decisions, locked resorts into rising costs, and diverted attention from the fact that climate conditions are fundamentally changing, with average temperatures continuing to rise and forcing a rethink of the underlying business model.”
Scientific reports show Alpine snow cover has fallen sharply, and Italy is now the world’s most artificial-snow-dependent ski nation, with around 90% of slopes relying on artificial snow – far higher than Switzerland (54%) and France (39%).
Producing artificial snow requires vast quantities of water and electricity – in Italy, snowmaking consumes 100-150 million cubic meters of water annually, which is the equivalent to the annual water usage of more than one-and-a-half million people.
Co-author and Associate Professor Alberto Nucciarelli, University of Trento, said: “The Alpine ecosystem needs to be protected and it is up to us as researchers to find new ways to match long-term sustainability of winter sports with the protection of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site – and the social wellness of local communities, who are the real guardians of the Alpine valley.”
Despite the challenges faced by the industry, the research also highlights several positive outcomes that are emerging.
For example, investment in snow-management infrastructure has strengthened economic resilience in Alpine regions, supporting local businesses and boosting employment. The sector employs more than 200,000 people directly and indirectly, with ski resorts in the Dolomites and the Alps among the largest employers.
Winter sports can also help take care of the natural environment, using technology to monitor and safeguard natural resources such as precipitation and water reserves, which are critical for local fauna, agriculture and the maintenance of green areas.
The study found that snow-making technology is increasingly more efficient too, with newer machines requiring lower levels of energy to operate. In the Dolomites, researchers estimate that up to 80% of artificial snow-production systems are now powered by electricity from renewable sources, rising to 100% in Trentino and parts of Alto Adige/South Tyrol.
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