La ecología política del esquí en el Pirineo catalán: entre la iniciativa privada y el rescate público

Abstract

The interactions between private economic interests and public institutions have played a fundamental role in the historical deployment of the ski tourism industry in the Catalan Pyrenees. Most ski resorts have endured significant economic crises that have forced their closure or that have been resolved thanks to the contributions from the State until they ended up in the hands of the autonomic government. The importance that the public Administration has achieved must be seen as part of an induced program of tertiarization propelled by urbanistic speculation which is the main governmental project for the high mountains’ areas. The analysis of this relationship, in a moment of global warming and growing social resistance, raises several questions about the future of the sector and the districts where it has been implemented.