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If the Mont Blanc
Tunnel does not open....
For those of you that are not aware, the tunnel was the scent of a most tragic accident a couple of years ago. Many lives were lost, and the artery
has been shut to traffic ever since. The lack of a direct road link between Italy and France means that anyone wanting to get from Geneva airport to
Courmayeur, or any of the other Aosta
Valley resorts will have a longer journey. The route then is from Geneva to
Martigny in Switzerland, from there through the Grand St. Bernard tunnel,
down to Aosta and from there up to Courmayeur. From Geneva to Courmayeur
via the Mont Blanc tunnel is just over an hour by car. From Geneva to Courmayeur via Martigny and Aosta is a couple of hours longer. If however you land in the Italian cities of Turin or Milan there really is
no problem, it takes the best part of 2 hours from either landing pad.
So there you have it. An inconvenience to be sure, but the trip around Martigny is not really that bad, and there is the big plus granted by a
total lack of pollution on the road from Aosta to Courmayeur and as well in
the resort and surrounding areas. The latter is the result of the fact that
the normally large transport trucks that used the tunnel as their route through Europe are now diverted to the Frejus tunnel, and the roads are mercifully free not only of their comings and goings, but of their
unpleasant emissions as well.
But how many people have been, or will be, put off going to Courmayeur for
their annual ski holiday and opt for a more convenient (from Geneva) Swiss
or French resort. This then is the reason for the deep thought you may find
enveloping anyone in tourism-related fields, this is the reason for concern.
We can't answer to the concern of the local hoteliers and others in the tourism field. We cannot either, predict how many skiers will be put off
skiing Courmayeur. But we can tell you, that if you land in Geneva, there
is indeed an inconvenience presented by the journey through Switzerland.
But in our opinion it is a minor one. It does not present enough of a hardship for you to change your plans. If Courmayeur is on your itinerary, leave it there.
Listen to www.skihear.com for related stories on the effects of
the closure of the tunnel on Courmayeur.
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