Sliding or Falling Downhill? A Critical Assessment of Alpine Skiing Resorts’ Snow Reliability and Technological Adaptive Business Strategies in the Italian Appennines

This explorative, qualitative study aims at investigating natural snow reliability and assessing the profitability of climate adaptive technological practices across Italian Appennines’ operating ski resorts in different potential climatic scenarios. Methodology is based on testing sampled ski resorts’ altitude with academic and industrial Line of Snow Reliability standardisation. Expecting increases in average global temperature, results show drastic reductions in the number of expected natural snow-reliable resorts. This study stands as a first ever attempt to address climate vulnerability and adaptation topics concerning the Italian Appennine region, still dangerously under-researched. Managerial implications are the assumption of continued short-term economic viability of technological adaptation but also a medium- and long-term desirability for business-oriented strategies aiming at revenues’ diversification.