Turbo Boost For Styrian Winter Tourism

The long "snow drought" is finally over, large parts of Styria are presented all in white these days. "From December 22 to January 10, however, we had a thaw in many areas - many small ski areas struggled to produce snow," says Cable Car Chairman Fabrice Girardoni. The rise in prices on and on the Styrian ski slopes was a topic in the media for months, but not so directly by the guests, as Girardoni emphasizes: "The rise in prices is fully accepted by skiers, so non-skiers tend to find it expensive." Ski areas - and thermal bath operators were confident in a call from the Styrian economy in the districts:

• Leoben: Johann Roth from the Präbichl mountain railways is hoping for even better weather with a view to the energy holidays. "The Christmas holidays were mixed across the board, because in addition to the heat there was also a high proportion of bad weather. We are very well booked for the holidays, almost fully booked. Our expectations are good, if the weather cooperates and we have more hours of sunshine, it should work.” According to Roth, despite the difficult snow conditions in recent weeks, the Präbichl guests showed great understanding: “There was almost no criticism from guests, despite the challenge of snowmaking. People were amazed at the good conditions. The desire to ski is just great.”
• Bruck-Mürz surcharge: Decades of experience have paid off at Stuhleck itself. "We've been working on the snow system since the early 1990s. The biggest problem so far has been getting enough pressure, electricity and water on all devices at the same time. Large lines are an important factor here. Especially when you have a winter like this one. That's how we managed to get the whole slope in shape in two days and three nights," says Girardoni. Girardoni cannot say too much about the booking situation for the forthcoming holidays, “since we have a good 90 percent of day guests. But the demand so far is at pre-Corona levels. The strongest days were traditionally from December 28th to 30th and January 3rd and 6th. Around Christmas, people focus on family celebrations.”
• Deutschlandsberg: No less than one and a half meters of snow fell on the Weinebene within 28 hours, as works manager Johann Sturm can report. "We haven't had that much since 2003." However, he remains calm when it comes to preparing the slope because of the large amount of snow. “By the weekend we will definitely have repaired the entire slope. We currently have a few ski course groups who are happy about every meter of piste," says Sturm. With the beginning of the energy holidays in Vienna, both Sturm and Konrad Klug expect a significant increase in guests who are enthusiastic about skiing from the Klug lifts on the Hebalm. “Most of our guests come from Styria, but Vienna comes in second – ahead of Carinthia. One problem is that we have too few beds in the region and therefore mostly welcome day visitors.”
• Murau:It has been in operation for a month and now the new "GrebenZEHN" has also been officially opened. At a length of 2,810 meters, this tows the passengers up 647 meters in altitude and can transport up to 2,090 people per hour. This is accompanied by an extension of the slopes, a total of 14 million euros were invested, as was proudly reported at the celebrations with Provincial Councilor Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, WKO Styria President Josef Herk, National Councilor Karl Schmidhofer and Mayor Fritz Sperl. Karl Fussi, Managing Director at Kreischberg and Lachtal, is currently laughing with the sun: "The number of season ticket sales is ten percent higher than the previous best value of 2019/20. We also had an excellent booking situation during the Christmas holidays and also many day visitors. There is a lot of acceptance of the price increases.” When it comes to making a forecast for energy holidays, Fussi is in the best of spirits. “Many companies report a very good booking situation, but there is still sufficient capacity for those who decide to come at short notice. In general, after two seasons with limitations, the desire to ski is very high.”
• Voitsberg:The recent natural snowfall has created the conditions for an excellent winter season on the Salzstiegl. The slopes are perfectly groomed and offer skiers, snowboarders and tobogganers a great experience. "The booking situation for the holidays is excellent, thanks to the natural snowfall we now have very good slope conditions," says the operators. A great era is finally coming to an end at the Salzstiegl this year: the married couple Regina and Friedl Kaltenegger sold the ski area to the Lower Austrian entrepreneur Robert Hammerl last year after 30 years - but this year the Kalteneggers are still helping out. “When we started, we had the ski area and ten apartments. We are very proud that we were able to expand the Salzstiegl into a fixed year-round attraction," emphasizes Friedl Kaltenegger. At present, around 100 snow cannons ensure that the twelve kilometers of pistes are perfectly groomed as early as the end of November. And thanks to "Frau Holle" there are now one and a half meters of fresh snow on the mountain.
• wheat:The ski areas in the region were already faced with numerous challenges this season, the Holzmeister lifts were briefly shut down, and the Pirstingerkogel lift, Hauereck and Teichalm were run through. Thanks to the newly expanded snow-making system with five snow cannons on three slopes, the Pirstingerkogel is snow-sure like never before. There is currently 50 centimeters of snow on the mountain and 30 in the valley. There is also plenty of snow on the Teichalm, where the operators have redesigned the parlor and put a third magic carpet with a length of 120 meters into operation. In St. Kathrein am Hauenstein, i.e. at the Hauereck ski area, people are preparing for the rush during the energy holidays, as Managing Director Karl Willenshofer emphasizes: "We are a good tip for all skiers from Lower Austria, Vienna, Styria and Burgenland, but also welcome guests from Hungary and the Czech Republic. Since January 20th we have opened the four-seater track, the magic carpet and the Hauereck descent every day again.”
• Hartberg-Fürstenfeld:During the semester break, not only the slopes are very busy, but also the Styrian thermal baths. Steaming thermal springs and plenty of time to splash around attract numerous families when there are no classes. For tourism and leisure companies, February is traditionally the strongest winter month. The number of bookings is correspondingly good, as the new managing director of the Parktherme Bad Radkersburg, Helene Frühwirth, confirms: "The booking situation for the hotels around the thermal baths is positive, even if bookings tend to be made at short notice." In the thermal baths themselves, there would always be more guests can use the online ticket system and book their admission to the thermal baths in advance. "For children and families, we have our own adventure area with a slide, wild water stream and other attractions," says Frühwirth. It is all the more difficult for the company that there is a lack of staff. "We are looking for staff, especially in our restaurants," says co-managing director Christian Korn. In this way, apprentices are also trained in the company to become the specialists of tomorrow. "We are currently looking for an apprentice restaurant manager," adds Korn.
• Southeast Styria:Ski areas and thermal baths in one region - that's what Hartberg-Fürstenfeld offers. And the guests accept it, as confirmed by both sides. “We are currently enjoying a very good booking situation. The forecast for February and thus for the holiday season is also strong," emphasizes Gernot Deutsch, Managing Director of the Heiltherme Bad Waltersdorf. In order to be able to cope with the onslaught, new approaches were taken when recruiting employees. “For a good year now, we have been consciously relying on the life experience of the 'older students' – regardless of what earlier professional field they come from. In addition, we have flexible working time models in order to appeal to the younger generation as well,” says Deutsch. From the warm thermal water to the cool snow - in the Sankt Jakob im Walde ski area. Here, host Stephan Berger is not only happy about that three of the four lifts are currently in operation, but also to the coming rush. “We are fully booked for all holiday weeks and the snow conditions are now excellent again. We have 40 centimeters each on the mountain and in the valley,” says Berger, who, like many other areas, has had to cope with difficult times this year. "The thaw has really hit us in the last few weeks, but it hasn't brought it to a standstill."