Climate change has led to a decline in snow density, making ski resorts at low and medium altitudes less attractive in winter.

For these reasons, various ski resorts will begin to adapt to the current situation by adjusting their slopes at lower altitudes, with the help of projects that have started to position themselves as specialists in preparing ski resorts for the post-snow phase.

One such project, the Beyond Snow project, is currently working on ten experimental areas to prepare them for the "post-snow" era.

According to "Euronews," in the heart of Triglav National Park, Klemen Langos, the director of the tourism office in the town of Bohinj, Slovenia, sees the number of visitors to the local ski resort declining year after year due to the decreasing snow density caused by global warming.

Langos said sadly, "Ski tourism used to represent 35% of all our visitors 10 or 15 years ago; now it has become 18-20%."

Several regions across Europe are simultaneously conducting the European Beyond Snow project, which aims to help Alpine areas overcome their dependence on snow, achieve sustainability, and adapt to preserve their future in the ski tourism industry.

The EURAC Research Center and dozens of other partners developed a strategy three years ago to help resorts survive the social, economic, and environmental consequences of climate change.

Philipp Coradini from the EURAC Center explained, "Our goal is to provide support with data and tools to develop tailored adaptation strategies."

Lake Bohinj in Slovenia is an example of European regions threatened with losing their identity as a global skiing center. It receives 250,000 tourists annually, most of them in the summer, and 22 slopes overlook this enchanting place, welcoming skiers at altitudes ranging from 1500 to 1800 meters. But for how long?

Klemen Langos comments on the threatened future of skiing tourism in the region, saying, "We need to find ways to develop hiking and biking trails without harming the pastures as a way of changing the region's tourism investment pattern away from skiing."

Langos added, "There are three main pillars we need to consider when talking about developing the area: agriculture, tourism, and environmental protection."

Bohinj is one of the ten experimental sites for the Beyond Snow project for post-snow adaptation.

Ten communities from six Alpine countries (France, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria) are preparing for the future by sharing their experiences toward this goal. In France, for example, the Métabief resort in the Jura is participating in the project.

The resorts conducted interviews with stakeholders, organized workshops, and conducted a tourism survey for them, as explained by Philippe Coradini. 

Based on all this information, researchers at the EURAC Center are currently developing transition strategies, so they are creating a community-based strategy that focuses not only on tourism but also on the livability of the place in the future.

The absence of snow has led to a transformation in the region's identity, which also means combating rural migration. Young people in Italy are fleeing the Carnia mountains, abandoning the small resort of Pradibosco, located at an altitude of 1,100 meters, due to a decline in job opportunities based on skiing tourism.

Marguerita Mabel Costantini, 28, feels despair over this situation, and she also works on the Beyond Snow project, where she says, "Young people love their region and want to stay, but they have no prospects, and above all, they need jobs here in the region that allow them to live and plan for the future."

The EU's cohesion policy funds the Beyond Snow project with 1,944,473 million euros out of a total of 2,720,730 million euros, encouraging the development of local potential.

The goal is for each community to find its own treasure in order to offer something new to tourists.

Beyond Snow will soon unveil a digital tool that will enable threatened areas to reinvent themselves, assess their resilience to climate change, and offer sustainable alternatives. 

The tool will be available for free to decision-makers in the Alps, with the hope of influencing policymakers.