Another Covid ski season starts down-under

As snow is beginning to blanket the slopes of Australia and New-Zealand, ski resorts are starting another winter season, still under the presence of Covid-19. 

This time folks are getting used to the routine, but vaccination seems to be lagging woefully behind and is holding up the free-wheeling activity we now see in the United-States. 

Yet, demand appears strong and, as an example, Thredbo in New South Wales, Australia, broke pre-season online sales records but still wants to cap season pass sales, claiming that their new business model is “moving away from a volume-based system. Good luck with that!.

In neighboring New Zealand is still stuck into self-congragutaling itself for their on-line res system, which I thought was horrible as implemented in the US by Vail Resorts. 

In Australia, the slow vaccine roll-out has forced the government in Victoria, where Falls Creek, Mount Hotham, and Mt. Buller are located, to require visitors from the Greater Melbourne area (still a hot spot for the pandemic), to produce a negative Covid-19 test before hitting the slopes. 

As for New Zealand is concerned Paul Anderson, CEO of NZSki, which operates Coronet Peak, Mt. Hutt, and The Remarkables adds: “There doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency to get everyone vaccinated, so a majority of the ski resort staff won’t get their shots until later in the season. Only the ski patrol and medical rescue teams may have access to the vaccine since they’re the ones to be in regular close contact with guests...”