How Upper Austria’s tourism benefits from winter sports

There are 43 ski areas in Upper Austria, and in addition to numerous small ones, the seven large ones will also open their doors in the coming weeks: Hinterstoder is expected to start on November 30th, the planned start in the Dachstein West area is on December 6th, the others will follow. Winter sports are also an economic factor in Upper Austria: a record was reached in the number of guests last year. 1.22 million guest arrivals (plus 7.2 percent) and 3.2 million overnight stays (plus 4.3 percent) were recorded in the winter half of the year. Over the past ten years, the number of winter vacationers has increased by 28.9 percent, and the number of overnight stays has increased by 24.7 percent in the same period.

Those responsible are also expecting good development this year despite the difficult economic situation and the increasing savings rate: “We see that leisure spending has not fallen despite the crises of recent years. There are people who adjust their vacation budgets accordingly, take shorter vacations, “They’re making compromises. But they’re giving themselves a break,” said Economic Affairs Minister Markus Achleitner on Monday at the presentation of a study on the importance of winter tourism. It is not clear whether there will be a record this year, but we are expecting a good response.

Upper Austria is particularly in demand as a winter sports destination among Austrians: they accounted for 61 percent of overnight stays in the previous season. The most important foreign market is Germany (18 percent), the strongest growth was recorded in the Czech Republic (plus 15.9 percent in overnight stays). According to a study carried out by Manova, Upper Austria’s cable cars achieved a direct gross added value of 21.5 million euros last winter: This would trigger effects in other sectors, such as transport, catering, accommodation and sports retail . The total gross added value therefore amounted to 87.3 million euros. The cable cars employ 590 people and secure 1,360 jobs in other industries.

One goal that domestic tourism is pursuing is to move away from thinking in terms of seasons: Upper Austria should be interesting for guests all year round and shoulder seasons with few guests should be a thing of the past. Rupert Schiefer, the board member of Bergbahnen Dachstein Salzkammergut, emphasized that the ratio of guests in summer and winter is now almost equal. They try to keep prices affordable for guests: a day ticket for adults for the Dachstein region costs 61.90 euros online or 66.90 euros at the checkout, which corresponds to an increase of four or 4.5 percent. The increase is moderate, but necessary due to increased energy and personnel costs.

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