“We can do winter” – Austria’s cable cars are ready to go and well prepared for the coming winter season, offering many new experiences and special offers for all target groups.
The annual survey of around 70,000 guests shows that 86.6 percent of respondents are satisfied or very satisfied with the overall product and over 90 percent describe Austria as an attractive winter sports destination. The repeat visit rate is correspondingly high at around 80 percent. The data on families and young people is also encouraging and important with a view to the future. 41 percent of skiers visit Austria's ski resorts as a family, the proportion of children and young people is increasing and is currently over 26 percent. This makes the focus on strengthening school ski courses and other formats in the area of youth development all the more important - increasingly also among the target group of families and children with a migrant background.
Attractive price-performance ratio and variety of offers
High-quality and, in many areas, globally unique offerings meet the pure joy of exercise and relaxation and shared experiences in unspoilt nature. The industry also scores points with an unchanged attractive and world-leading price-performance ratio (around 80% of guests are (very) satisfied with the price-performance ratio). In addition, the high quality is the decisive unique selling point of the local cable car landscape - from the cheaper segment of small ski areas to the internationally known top spots. Attractive offers for children and young people are a matter of course for the industry. Accordingly, the offers in the ski areas are also constantly being expanded - up to free skiing opportunities for children and inexpensive family tickets.
Skiing fun with guaranteed snow and professional know-how
In Austria's ski areas, skiing is always possible in winter. Thanks to extensive and constant investments, over 75 percent of the slopes in Austria can be covered with artificial snow. Efficient snowmaking systems of the latest generation as well as professional slope management and know-how are used to ensure optimal conditions with the lowest possible energy and resource consumption. Energy consumption is just 1 to 3 kWh/m³ of snow, almost 90 percent of the energy required comes from renewable energy sources and only 0.07 percent of Austria's total annual water resources are used for snowmaking.
Climate-friendly mountain experience to the summit
Austria's cable car industry is way ahead in terms of the share of renewable energy - and the share is increasing from year to year. With an electricity share of 750 GWh, the cable cars, including artificial snowmaking, require an electrical energy share of just 1.2 percent of Austria's total electricity demand. More than 800 GWh of electricity is wasted in Austria through standby losses from electrical devices alone. The expansion into renewable energy sources such as hydropower and photovoltaics is significantly improving the energy balance of domestic cable cars. In addition, cable cars are 100% electromobility and are among the most energy-efficient transport systems. And the last remaining "oil consumer", the piste machines, are also making massive progress towards sustainability. Several ski resorts have already switched their operations completely to the use of HVO biofuel. In many places, this means that they are already approaching 100 percent operation without fossil fuels.