Breaking News: The Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia has announced at a press conference in Rome on Sunday (8 March 2020) that all ski facilities in Italy will be closed, starting from 10 March 2020, in an attempt to reduce the spread of Covid-19, the Coronavirus.

In his statement, he said: “We have decided to close all of the country’s skiing facilities starting tomorrow morning with a decree of the civil protection department”

This brings to a close the ski season two months early for Italy, one of the Alps’ main destinations for skiers and snowboarders, as the country now has the world’s second highest number of cases of the Coronavirus.

One of the first instances of the virus in Europe was detected in the Alps in early February, as we reported HERE.  Ironically, it struck the French resort of Les Contamines first, although the name does not mean ‘contaminated’, (see our post Les Contamines – contaminated by Coronavirus HERE for more details). 

Now, right across the Alps, the virus is having an impact on the ski industry as a number of resorts start to cancel their end of season events.

Several ski festivals have been axed, because of the virus.  These include Tomorrowland, which is held in the French resort of Alpe d’Huez; the Rock The Piste festival, which usually attracts around 28,000 revellers to around 50 concerts over a week in mid March in the resorts which comprise Portes de Soleil, a huge ski region straddling Switzerland and France; and the headline acts for the main stage at Snowboxx in Avoriaz (21-28 March), also in the Portes de Soleil ski region, has also been cancelled to date.