What impact has global warming had on alpine tourism?

Question 1

What would be a good case study for this?

Answer 1

Abondance

Question 2

Starting point for the essay

Answer 2

Abondance is a small town in the French Alps,
with a Population of 1300 people,
Situated at an altitude of 3000ft above sea level.

Tourism is its main source of income

Question 3

What happened in Abondance

Answer 3

In 2006 snow fell for only 20 days which had a profound, social, and economic impact upon the area

Question 4

What was the social impact

Answer 4

The primary social impact included a loss of jobs and people moving out of the town

Question 5

What was the economic impact

Answer 5

The lack of snow led to a lack of tourists, which led to a a lack of revenue being generated. This included a loss of 882,000 Euros when the ski lifts were not used.

Businesses were operating at a loss and banks would not lend them money to try and manage the risk

Jobs started to go and people started to look outside of the village for work

A plan to try and manage the issue via snow cannons was developed, however this would prove to be very costly

Question 6

What was the environmental impact

Answer 6

Snow cannons can trample local vegetation which takes upto 30 years to recover.

Avalanche risk could increase as the rainfall would act as a lubricant

Abundance may have to link with a higher resort in a fragile and exposed area of the mountain range to survive.