Salzburg Ski Areas Have Successful Start To The Winter

Salzburg's ski areas have had a promising start to the winter season. Due to the tunnel construction site on the A10, there is a drop in day ski guests in Ennspongau, but they still hope to be able to achieve a good result for the season.

The heavy snowfall at the beginning of December really whetted the appetite for winter sports among locals and guests and boosted bookings. “We are satisfied with the season so far. Season ticket sales have been as good as in the previous winter, and the number of guests over Christmas is also similar to 2022,” says Veronika Scheffer from Zauchensee Bergbahnen.

Of course, there is a noticeable decline in day guests, but this will only really be noticeable during the holiday period in January. "We have 20% day guests in the ski area. We will definitely feel the reluctance caused by the tunnel construction site," Scheffer continued. It definitely helped that the feeder lifts from Flachauwinkl are already in operation at 8 a.m. "That's useful Many people choose to arrive earlier,” explains Scheffer.

Compact season

The Grossarltal also had a good start to the season. "The hotels weren't completely full at Christmas, but we're almost fully booked for New Year's Eve and this week," says Thomas Wirnsperger from the Grossarltal Tourism Association. The new Kieserlbahn with a total investment of €70 million is also just in time for the start of the season “Our new connection to Dorfgastein and the new summit restaurant have been extremely well received,” adds Wirnsperger.

The traffic jams on the Tauern motorway are not pleasant, but they are accepted by the majority of overnight guests in the valley. Wirnsperger is also optimistic about the rest of the season: "Thanks to the early Easter date, we have an extremely compact season this year, which we want to conclude with similar success to last winter."

One of the beneficiaries of the tunnel construction site is the Almenwelt Lofer ski area. Due to the huge rush and in order to divert the flow of visitors, the prices for day ski tickets have been increased during the Christmas holidays. "If, like now, all the beds in the region are full and a lot of multi-day ski tickets have been sold, then we try to direct the day skiers to other days. And that's why we have increased the prices for day tickets by 6%, because the rush is so strong." , emphasizes Willi Leitinger from the Lofer mountain railways.

Top capacity

The World Cup venue Saalbach-Hinterglemm also reports an excellent booking situation. And not just during the Christmas holidays, but also during the mid-holiday period in January. Here the occupancy rate is over 80%. “If the tourism engine is running well, that is good news for the local business location. Because it contributes to a high level of added value in the country and many industries are directly and indirectly dependent on it,” says Tourism Officer, Deputy State Governor Stefan Schnöll.

High inflation and price increases are not currently having a negative impact. “Even if the length of stay is getting shorter here and there, many people want to afford their winter vacation. This is also confirmed by current guest surveys,” explains Leo Bauernberger from the Salzburger Land Tourismus Gesellschaft.

The Salzburg Transport Association also draws a positive initial assessment of the increased public transport to the ski areas. “Our offer of free travel to six Salzburg ski areas has been very well received,” says Christian Schernthaner from the transport association. Anyone who buys a ski ticket from the participating ski areas also gets free travel to and from the public transport system. In addition, it has been running since December 30th There is a separate weekend ski train from Straßwalchen to the Gastein Valley.