Austrian ski resorts suffering from a lack of snow due to a mild winter can expect this to continue into the future, Austrian research institute Joanneum Research said Tuesday.

The institute forecast that there will be up to 30 percent fewer days each year suitable for skiing in the coming decades. In the state of Styria some ski resorts face potentially having to close down due to the lack of snow, ORF reported.

Even artificial snow, produced by snow machines that are becoming increasingly popular, is not expected to be able to keep up with tourist demand in a country famous for its ski slopes.

Despite a completely clear prognosis for the next 30 years not being possible, Franz Prettenthaler from the research institute said it "will get warmer and more expensive to keep producing snow."

He added that in addition to lack of snow keeping skiiers away, people generally had less desire to go skiing on warmer days.

Karl Schmidhofer, chairman of the ski lift trade group in the state of Styria, said smaller skiing operations needed to be looked after, noting that investment should not only be aimed at the ski lifts themselves, but also involve looking to the future and should involve municipalities and ski lift operators.