Improved slope conditions in the second week of Christmas lead to a 30 percent increase in visitors compared to the three previous winters..
On January 6, 2026, the last day of the Christmas holidays, 15 ski resorts in Lower Austria were operating with 51 (out of a possible 63) lifts, offering a total of 71 kilometers of slopes – plus the Rax cable car and the Schneeberg chairlift for hiking. Several ski resorts were able to significantly expand their slope offerings during the second week of the Christmas holidays, such as Gemeindealpe Mitterbach and Erlebnisalm Mönichkirchen. The most popular were the Hochkar cable cars and the Semmering Hirschenkogel with its traditional tobogganing and night skiing.
„These Christmas holidays were a fantastic start to the ski season. What I find particularly pleasing is that many people are returning to skiing this year after a longer break – this is evident, for example, in ski rentals or participation in club ski courses. The Lower Austrian Mountain Experience Pass, the joint season ticket for ten ski resorts, has already been used an average of four times, meaning that families with children in particular could end up with more days of skiing than expected by the end of the season,“ says Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, who is responsible for tourism.
„While our ski resorts were well-attended during the Christmas holidays last winter season, visitor numbers are even better this year. In the 14 days from December 24, 2025, to January 6, 2026, a total of around 190,000 visits were recorded at 15 ski resorts in Lower Austria. Of these, 126,000 were at the state-owned ecoplus Alpin GmbH. Compared to the previous three winters, this represents an increase of around 30 percent,“ added Mikl-Leitner, who particularly emphasized that „the weather and snow conditions were truly ideal and led to record-breaking visitor numbers, especially during the second week of Christmas.“.
Record figures at ecoplus Alpin GmbH
„Across our five locations, we recorded a total of around 14,000 first-time visitors on both January 3rd and 4th, 2026, with a third of those visitors coming from the Hochkar cable cars alone. These are absolute record figures. It helps us a great deal that the vast majority of guests book online in advance and that we have gained experience with the necessary season ticket allocations,“ says Markus Redl, Managing Director of ecoplus Alpin GmbH, which includes the Annaberg lifts, the Mönichkirchen adventure park, the Hochkar cable cars, the Ötscher lifts in Lackenhof, and the Wexl Arena in St. Corona am Wechsel.
„Most of our ski resorts still have two-thirds of their planned winter season ahead of them, and for the Hochkar Bergbahnen, with the season ending on April 6, 2026, it's almost three-quarters. But despite very little natural snow, our staff have produced the best possible base layer of snow and thus significantly expanded the range of slopes available during the second week of Christmas,“ Redl notes. Since the start of the season at the end of November 2025, the ecoplus Alpin GmbH area has recorded around 173,000 first entries („skier days“) up to January 6, 2026, 47,000 of which were before the Christmas holidays.
Complete success for ski lift operators
„The Christmas holidays were a complete success for our entire industry, especially for smaller businesses: The ‚Skiarena JAUerling‘ and the ‚Schidorf Kirchbach‘ were practically fully booked every day and every evening, and the Arralifte Harmanschlag and the ski area at Feistritzsattel were also very well attended,“ says Michael Reichl, Chairman of the Cable Car Association at the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce. He adds: „Furthermore, the Maiszinken ski area in Lunz am See, the family ski park in Puchberg am Schneeberg, the Königsberg lifts in Hollenstein an der Ybbs, and the Turmkogel lifts in Puchenstuben are partially operating with offers for families with children.“