Abstract
This paper investigates the returns to ski lift investments. The analysis covers 370 ski lifts in 45 ski areas in South Tyrol in North Italy (Alto Adige) for the winter seasons 2002/2003 to 2013/2014. Dynamic panel difference-in-differences estimations show that investments in new ski lifts attract more skiers. On average, ski lift operators who have installed a new ski lift will have 6% more skiers in the following winter season. However, when the neighbouring ski areas are included there are signs of cannibalisation, as the net returns to ski lift investments decrease significantly in magnitude in the second half of the sample period. Furthermore, the positive effects of ski lift installations on the number of skiers are only temporary, generally fading out after 2 years. This proves that investing in a stagnating market is associated with risks.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Albert Assaf, Markus Kurscheidt, Raffaele Scuderi, Stefan Szymanski, and Muzzo Uysal as well as the participants of the EARIE 2015 conference in Munich, the Innovation and hospitality conference in Portorož 2017, the IATE 2017 in Rimini, the CERS 2017 conference in Banska Bystrica, CBTS 2017 conference in Brunico and the 4th Sport Economics & Sport Management (SESM) in Vienna for helpful comments on an earlier version of the paper. The authors would also like to thank Tess Landon and Caroline Wigerstad for careful proofreading of the paper.
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Appendix
Appendix
Source: Ski lift association Alto Adige/Südtirol
Evolution of ski lift transports in the province of Alto Adige.
Notes: Wider ski region: Seiseralm, Seceda, Monte Pana, Ciampinoi, Danterceppies, Plan de Gralba, Sellajoch and Wolkenstein. Narrow: Seiseralm
Example of narrow and wider effects for ski lift replacements.
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Falk, M., Tveteraas, S.L. Modelling the wider effects of ski lift investments. Empir Econ 59, 259–274 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01626-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01626-3