Will the Economies Crash due to weather?

Question

Do you think the economies of countries such as Austria or Switzerland will crash if winters like this one which have brought very little snow will become more and more annual and wintersports will be hard to practice?

Answer 1

The Swiss economy mainly bases on banks, other services as well as the watch and chemical/pharmaceutical industry plus some hightech areas.

Tourism is a very small part, badly paid anyway, and snow-related winter tourism only takes place in some areas. Of course I know, that the image of Switzerland mainly bases on snow and chocolate - but there's a lot more going on here!

So even if there was no snow at all in future, the Swiss economy would not get into any kind of trouble. Perhaps some more people would come in spring or autumn due to the then warmer weather.

Greetings from Switzerland

Answer 2

It is very unlikely that the economies of Austria or Switzerland crash just because of winters with little snow. Although tourism is a industry of some importance in these countries the entire economy does not totally depend on it.

In Switzerland the tourism part of gross domestic product is 3%. Only a proportion of this figure is winter sport related..
If there would be a decline in winter tourism this would have serious effects on winter tourist places but would not cause a crash of the entire economy.

Answer 3

It is a well known fact that economies that depend upon the weather, be it anchovie fishing off the coast of South America following an El Nino, Hurricance damage along one of our coasts, flood damage along the length of the Mississippi River, or lack of snow fall at our ski resorts in Colorado or New England. It is unlikely there will be a "crash" in the economy of the countries you mentioned but they could indeed suffer as a result of dry winters.