PiedmontSKI STATIONS
His name is Fabio Bonzi, from Turin, and he is a director of the company P.d.F. LTD with which he manages together with Davide Romussi and Bruno Favarin the Pian del Frais (Chiomonte), a small ski resort 50 km from Turin.
Saturday 31 March 2018 7 minutes reading time
To save the ski resort - that this year should have been closed, according to an official statement by the Mayor of Chiomonte on December 23, 2017 - the P.d.F. LTD in a short time it was able to complete a contract with the Municipality for the management of municipal plants (expiring on 30 April 2018) and a long-term contract with Dedalo s.r.l. for the management of privately owned plants.
This allowed the opening of the Pian del Frais facilities starting from 20 January 2018.
Why did you decide to take up the job of managing the Pian del Frais?
Pian del Frais is a ski resort that I have been visiting for many years and which, as happens to many, has stolen a piece of my heart. Having known and frequented several ski resorts over the years, I immediately grasped the potential of Pian del Frais , not only in terms of the quality of the skiable area, but also on that of real estate investments. In November 2017 I decided to buy the local "Lo Yoti", which has been in disuse for a long time. For all these reasons, having read the statement of December 23, 2017 that sentenced the closure of the plant pushed me to send a proposal to the city administration with the aim of reaching an agreement and save the season. After several meetings, together with a team of people motivated to grow the Pian del Frais, we have hit the target.
How many plants are open?
All the lifts available today are available (two ski lifts and a chair lift). The Chiomonte - Frais chairlift, which connects the village of Chiomonte to the ski resort, is closed. Unfortunately for this year, both for bureaucratic reasons and for reasons of time, despite our availability in this sense, it was not possible to include this plant in the agreements reached with the municipal administration of Chiomonte.
Are the plants open every day or only on weekends?
For this season we are only open on weekends, except for the carnival week and Easter holidays (opening from March 29th to April 3rd 2018).
How is the season going so far?
We are collecting very positive feedback from customers and this, in addition to repaying every effort and sacrifice made so far, leads us to be decidedly optimistic for the future. We have already made some fundamental investments (safety of the slopes, purchase of snowmobiles, cannons for artificial snow, etc ...). However we are aware that this will be a year of "survival" on the economic level (the season, for us, in fact, it started last January 20th), but we immediately wanted to offer our guests a quality service that until recently was unthinkable.
Have you made any promotions to increase tourism?
We have stipulated some agreements with neighboring municipalities and local associations. We have focused on offering a complete service, guaranteeing the opening of all systems in any condition and tracks always and entirely beaten at low prices, as the Pian del Frais is already a lowcost ski resort. Offer a quality service is the weapon that has proved successful.
Next year, do you think you want to continue managing the station?
On April 30th we conclude our contract with the Municipality of Chiomonte for the management of plants for 2018. Our work for the current season is the starting point for the years to come. We had a series of meetings with the Municipal Administration and technical to discuss the installation of new plants (the Municipality has recently approved the allocation of funds for the purchase of two chairlifts, one of which four-seater), the widening of the ski area, the improvement of the artificial snow system and the enhancement of tourist services (commercial activities, beds, rooms, etc ...). If everything goes as we hope, moreover, our commitment will not only be limited to the winter season (during which the plants will be open during the week) but will be directed to develop the great potential of the Pian del Frais also for summer activities.
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