Lower Austria: Access To Ski Areas Only With A Ticket Or Reservation

A press conference was held in the unfortunately named family arena St. Corona am Wechsel on the occasion of the upcoming opening of the Lower Austrian ski areas. Jochen Danninger, regional tourist councilor, together with regional police director Franz Popp and task force leader Isabella Hinterleitner from NÖ Bergbahnen Beteiligungs GmbH, informed about the measures to ensure safe skiing in Lower Austria.

“With the hard lockdown, the signs for the start of the winter season on Lower Austria's ski slopes have tightened again. We have been saying since the beginning of the pandemic: the health of our compatriots comes first. We will continue to follow this principle ”, Jochen Danninger opened the press conference. “After many weeks of curfews and more weeks of even tougher lockdown regulations, many of our compatriots have been hit by the roof. You long for activities in the fresh air again, apart from walking. The prerequisite, however, is that we all approach the matter with the necessary caution, prudence and discipline, ”continues the regional council, which expects a significantly increased demand in the ski areas.

It is clear that the safety of the guests is the top priority. Therefore, due to the COVID-19 measures and the requirements of the federal government, many guests who want to come will probably have to be turned away so that the capacities are not exceeded. “Our lifts have significantly reduced capacities compared to previous years: under normal circumstances, around 22,000 guests can be transported with our cable car operations per day, this year it is less than half, namely around 10,000 guests,” said Danninger. So that everything can run properly, the ski areas may only be visited for active skiing. “The most important thing is the ticket. Do not go to any ski area in Lower Austria without a valid ticket or reservation. Because only then is access to the ski area permitted.

For this purpose, guests are provided with a Winternavi in ​​the form of a WebApp at the address www.winternavi.at. This app provides information on where tickets can be booked and in some ski areas also how many tickets are still available. According to Danninger, Lower Austria is the only federal state that relies exclusively on online tickets for cable car companies. In addition, you should keep your distance and wear a face mask or, depending on the type of lift, an FFP2 mask in the leaning area and when using the lift. In Lower Austria there are around 30 ski areas with 100 lifts and 200 kilometers of slopes. 98 percent of the lifts have an “open air guarantee”, so they are chair lifts or tow lifts.

To ensure that the rules are adhered to, the executive will be present in front of and in the ski areas with the alpine police.

State Police Director Franz Popp said: “We have prepared well together with those responsible, we have taken precautions and will be on site with additional patrols. We want to help ensure that safe skiing is possible in Lower Austria. This requires everyone's discipline and a valid ticket. "

Isabella Hinterleitner from the NÖ Bergbahnen Beteiligungs GmbH emphasized: “As part of the initiative 'Going out safe in Lower Austria', we have been working intensively on winter for months. An unbelievable amount has been done to be able to offer a skiing experience under these special conditions. “The catering and ski rental are only allowed to open under special security precautions. Ski schools can offer private courses for participants with another household. However, it is advisable to find out more on the ski resort websites in advance.