The French government is the latest to confirm that ski areas there will be open this winter.
The Italian government, which was the only other major ski nation to completely close ski lifts last year, has already said that its ski areas will operate. The Austrian government, which allowed lifts to run last winter but did not allow tourism, has also said ski holidays can return there too. Switzerland has allowed its ski areas to stay open since the end of the first lockdown in Spring 2020.
All of these countries have strict Covid-19 spread prevention measures in place and require skiers to be fully vaccinated or test negative or have evidence of recovery from a recent coronavirus infection, or similar.
The French Secretary of State for Tourism, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, confirmed on Saturday that lifts will open there this winter.
The French Sanitary Pass which is required to enter many establishments has proved controversial and ski areas had expressed concern that insisting on its use to board ski lifts could be impractical.
Mr Lemoyne stated skiers would not be needed to use ski lifts unless the epidemic takes a major turn for the worse.
(Image top credit Risoul)
