Environmental, Economic and Social Implications of Winter Resorts

Environmental, Economic and Social Implications of Winter Resorts  

Introduction

Planning a vacation at a winter resort remains one of the most popular winter recreational activities to date. Winter resorts offer visitors a wide range of activities such as downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, tubing, snowshoeing and more. Their market ranges from local teens to older adults and upscale tourists from around the globe, depending on location, climate, attractions, and packages available. These resorts have a major role in the recreation and tourism industries and bring in a large amount of revenue to their local towns. Millions of North Americans take part in various winter activities at many different locations, representing many different people from a wide range of locations, age groups, income levels, and social groups. The negative impact of construction and maintenance of the resorts on the surrounding environment is an important area to analyze, along with the economic and social implications of building winter resorts. Each of these factors contributes to the overall sustainability of this important sector of the tourism industry.

Environmental Impacts

As the public becomes more aware of environmental issues surrounding various activities and operations, it is extremely important to analyze the environmental implications of the construction and yearly maintenance of winter resorts as this may impact the long term stability of the resort. While winter resorts may first appear to have little impact on the environment, it is evident with further analysis that they are in fact hurting many aspects of the mountain such as wildlife disturbance, soil erosion, and more.

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Winter resorts rely on a large amount of energy to complete their day-to-day operations. Several aspects of the resort including chair lifts, snow grooming machines, indoor and outdoor lighting, and other resources needed to run the...