Who will pay for ski investment?

YESTERDAY’S report published by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise provides a comprehensive state of play on the Scottish ski industry.

It also comes up with recommendations to safeguard the snowsports sector – some useful and some not so useful as far as CairnGorm Mountain is concerned.

For example, giving snowsports enthusiasts better access to snow higher up mountains: the report’s authors said that resorts may have to follow examples from Japan and Switzerland, where there is access to better-quality higher snow fields.

That’s not an option at CairnGorm Mountain, because most of the runs and uplift are already located on the upper slopes, and it is doubtful that anyone has the appetite or money to revisit the Lurcher’s Gully battle of a generation ago by expanding outwith the present ski area.

There are more practical steps such as campaigning for Westminster to bring Scotland’s ski resorts into line with other parts of Europe when it comes to purchase tax on uplift (VAT in this case for the UK). With a local MP as the No 2 at the Treasury, the industry will never have a better time to make the case for concessions.

More work with Scottish Snowsports to delive their action to get more schools, clubs and beginners initiatives up and running will also ensure a good supply of ski and snowboard fans for the years to come.

The Badenoch and Strathspey Schools Snowsports Association is already doing sterling work to this end locally and similar schemes could be encouraged in the wider region.

But one glaring omission in the report is where the "serious investment" now required from external sources for new equipment and ski centre growth strategies is going to come from.

The authors correctly state that in the current financial climate of budget cutbacks in the public sector, it is unlikely that capital funding will be available from traditional development routes – such as HIE, owners of Cairngorm Estate and the ski operation, whose budget has been slashed in recent years.

The ski centres cannot raise debt finance due to the risk and banking squeeze, and other forms of private sector inward investment are unlikely, again because of risk and low returns.

The report states that if the snow sector is to prevent further decline and show modest growth, other direct funding sources are needed – but the authors are left wanting when it comes to identifying the cash cows!

As ever, it is much easier said than done.