On July 2nd, at Regione Lombardia, an important meeting took place as part of the TranStat – Transitioning towards Sustainable Ski Tourism project. For the first time, several Italian regions hosting Alpine ski resorts came together for a strategic dialogue on sustainable mobility in mountain areas.
The goal of the meeting was to share strategies and visions on sustainable mobility in the mountains. This interregional exchange allowed for the presentation of policy recommendations developed within the project and fostered a collective reflection on their potential territorial applications, aiming to balance tourism attractiveness with environmental protection.
The session was opened by Dr. Federica Picchi, Undersecretary for Youth and Sport of Regione Lombardia. This was followed by contributions from experts and representatives of institutions engaged in mountain mobility. Leonardo La Rocca from DFS Sport e Giovani presented the TranStat project, while Stefano Sala from the University of Milan – UNIMONT shared data collected during the project’s first phase, thanks in part to active citizen involvement. Luigi Bonetti from ARPA Lombardia emphasized the importance of environmental data in monitoring traffic impacts in mountain areas. Matteo Barbato from Fondazione Cariplo reaffirmed the Foundation’s commitment to supporting innovative mountain initiatives, particularly through the Montagne in Transizione call.
Prof. Federica Corrado from Politecnico di Torino presented Beyond Snow, another Interreg Alpine Space project focused on the sustainable transformation of ski resorts. Patrizia Comar from the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia offered the perspective of regional administrations and mobility policies in the mountainous areas of the North-East, highlighting the connection with MountResilience, a Horizon Europe project coordinated by UNIMONT that aims to strengthen the resilience of mountain areas in the face of environmental and socio-economic challenges. Finally, Stefano Lucchini from Maniva Ski and ANEF Lombardia gave voice to ski industry operators, discussing the challenges and opportunities for more sustainable mobility in winter tourism destinations.
The morning concluded with remarks from Prof. Anna Giorgi, Head of the UNIMONT Centre, who outlined the main policy recommendations that emerged from the participatory process of TranStat. She emphasized the value of a shared and synergistic approach to addressing contemporary mountain challenges and the need to organize coordination and discussion moments among the various institutions responsible for mountain governance.
In the afternoon, the roundtable served as an operational moment to delve deeper into shared visions and strategies for the transition of Alpine ski areas. The discussion strongly highlighted the need for a paradigm shift: concrete, integrated, and replicable solutions to make mountain areas more accessible, attractive, and sustainable—for the benefit of both local communities and visitors. It also called for the establishment of permanent coordination platforms involving institutional actors and civil society to co-design the development of mountain territories.