PwC Study: The Socio Economic Impact Of Ski Lifts In Italy
The annual general meeting of the Italian cable car association ANEF took place in Bolzano in the autumn. The meeting brought together important representatives from business, science and institutions to promote dialogue and exchange on strategic issues relating to mountains and tourism.
President Valeria Ghezzi opened the event with a passionate speech in which she stressed the importance of the mountains not only as a tourist destination but also as an economic and cultural resource that must be protected.
A key moment of the meeting was the presentation of a study commissioned by PwC Italia that analyses the socio-economic impact of ski lifts at local level. The study covered the regions of Lombardy, Aosta and the autonomous Trentino and provided meaningful data on the tourist expenditure of lift users and their companions.
The results of the study show that the locally generated added value varies between 384 million euros and 1,033 million euros depending on the region. This impact is mainly reflected in the accommodation, catering, transport, retail and real estate sectors. In particular, the data show a significant local tourism expenditure estimated at between 541 million euros and 1,472 million euros for the three regions studied, highlighting mountain tourism as a strategic resource for local economies.
Cristian Celoria, partner at PwC Italia, highlighted that the average daily per capita expenditure of lift users ranges between 118 and 127 euros, with a particular focus on expenditure categories such as catering (up to 38.99% of total expenditure) and accommodation (up to 40.50%). In addition, it is estimated that a significant part of the local economic impact, between 29% and 32%, comes from micro-enterprises, underlining the importance of small businesses for the mountain economy.
The PwC study also analyzed the tax revenues generated by tourism activities and highlighted the important contribution to the budgets of regions and municipalities, with estimates ranging between 8.7 and 15.1 euros per skier.
Valeria Ghezzi, President of ANEF, explained that the results of the study confirm the role of cable cars as "multipliers" for the mountain economy and underline the importance of further investments while respecting ecosystems and local communities.
For more details and to explore the results of the PwC Italia study, we invite you to view the full report here
