1228 | 117 | Climate change, tourism and the 2026 Winter Olympics: threats and opportunities for the Italian Prealps

Mega-events such as the Olympics often involve popular locations established as tourist destinations. However, the need to build and modernize infrastructures, policy-making by the stakeholders, and the increase in tourist flows, trigger environmental, social, and economic effects that transcend the host cities and target areas. In the case of Milan-Cortina 2026, a territory that can be defined as an “ordinary mountain” or “middle mountain” (Varotto, 2020), might be affected by the externalities due to the mega-event, without relevant benefits. In the Italian Prealps, particularly, fragile intermediate areas, located between famous peaks and congested valley bottoms, environmental issues are pushing to redesign territorial development (Dematteis, 2020). The decrease in natural snowfall below 2000m altitude in recent years is prompting local governments in the “southern alpine front” (Pedrazzini, 2019) to reimagine their spatial planning and diversify the offer of facilities and services. Therefore, we aim to investigate possible implications, threats, and opportunities in the relationship between the upcoming Winter Olympics and local policies on an interregional scale, to highlight best practices to balance economic growth with sustainability, landscape protection, and climate change._x000D_
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Pedrazzini L. (2019), “Le diverse facce della montagna in declino: un’esperienza lombarda”, Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine, 107-1 | 2019 (online), DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/rga.5315._x000D_
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Dematteis M. (2020), “Il turismo in montagna: in crisi quello invernale di massa, in crescita quello «dolce»” su Il Mulino, Rivista trimestrale di cultura e di politica, 6, pp. 984-991, DOI: 10.1402/99426._x000D_
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Varotto M. (2020), Montagne di mezzo. Una nuova geografia, Einaudi, Torino_x000D_

Simone Gamba
IULM, Milano

ID Abstract: 117

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