Antitrust scrutiny on Dolomite ski passes: potential deal detrimental to competition

MILAN – The Antitrust Authority is shedding light on ski pass prices in the Dolomiti SuperSki ski area , one of Italy's leading winter tourism destinations and a popular destination for many foreign tourists . The Competition and Market Authority wants to shed light on the agreements between the Federation and the twelve member ski lift consortia.

The focus of particular attention is on the Federation's statute and how this effectively gives it the ability to control ski pass prices not only for the entire ski area, but also for individual local consortia. And how the latter are limited in their ability to sell ski passes through third parties.

The 15-page document published by the Authority shows that the investigation was initiated following a report last November from SportIt , a travel agency and tour operator. In particular, through its SnowIt platform, it acts as a marketplace that allows skiers to purchase ski-related services online, particularly ski passes, ski and snowboard rentals, participation in activities such as snowshoeing and excursions, and booking accommodation and restaurants in mountain resorts.

According to the documents, SportIt attempted for a long time to reach a commercial agreement with the Federation of consortia that constitute Dolomiti SuperSki. A two-pronged refusal, to be honest: it was impossible to begin marketing the so-called "super-skipass," which is valid for access to the entire ski area; contacts with the various participating ski areas to put the respective area ski passes on sale have been “unsuccessful” (these are, in detail, the Consortium of cableway operators Cortina d'Ampezzo, S. Vito di Cadore, Auronzo/Misurina; Consortium of cableway operators Skirama Plan de Corones - Kronplatz; Consortium of cableway operators Alta Badia; Consortium of cableway operators Val Gardena - Alpe di Siusi; Consortium of cableway operators Val di Fassa and Carezza; Consortium of operators of transport of people by cableway Alpe Lusia - San Pellegrino; Consortium of cableway operators Civetta; Consortium of cableway operators Arabba - Marmolada; Consortium 3 Zinnen Dolomites; Consortium of cableway operators Val di Fiemme - Obereggen; Consortium of cableway operators San Martino di Magra Castrozza and Passo Rolle; Rio Pusteria Consortium - Bressanone).

At this point, the Antitrust Authority thoroughly examined the Federation's Statute, finding evidence of two forms of anti-competitive agreement: "The first concerns Federconsorzio's setting of the price of ski passes for the area's ski resorts," the document states. "The second concerns the restrictions imposed on the area consortia regarding the distribution of their ski passes through third parties." Essentially, there is a risk of "cooperation between competitors (the individual area consortia, themselves representing different cableway companies, via the FDSK) both in setting the price and in the distribution and promotion of their respective ski passes, i.e., a joint marketing agreement (also called a "joint marketing agreement") to be assessed in relation to the functions covered by the cooperation."

This is why the Antitrust Authority has decided to launch an investigation. Assoutenti welcomes this move, noting that the Dolomiti Superski consortium's daily ticket price has increased by 3.8% over the past year, from €80 to €83. Extending the comparison to 2021, it reports a 23.9% increase, from €67 to €83.