The local cable car companies are again dealing with a difficult season: they can be affected by energy rationing in winter. What ski resorts and an expert expect.
Hardly anyone in the local ski resorts would want to imagine this scenario: in November and December of all days, when snow cannons lay the foundation for the entire winter season, Russia turns off the gas tap. There is energy rationing – and a battle over which areas are classified as “systemic.”
“No unnecessary luxury”
Positions are already being taken for this possible discussion. “We are aware that we are not systemically important like a hospital. But we are no less important than a production company”, emphasizes Fabrice Girardoni, Managing Director at Stuhleck and President of the Styrian cable car industry. Making snow is “not an indispensable luxury” – it guarantees high added value and creates thousands of jobs.
“If there are energy restrictions, it may not be possible to make snow on all slopes, the width of the slopes could be reduced, operating times could be limited,” tourism researcher Oliver Fritz of the Wifo Institute outlines possible consequences. Such considerations already exist in some ski resorts.
“We have to be flexible”
In any case, their hopes for a half normal season after two hard Corona winters are gone. “There is a lot of uncertainty again, we have to be flexible,” says Kreischberg director Karl Fussi.
The energy supply is not the only major challenge, as Fritz points out. The pandemic still hangs like the sword of Damocles over the tourism industry, plus ubiquitous staffing problems and, of course, high inflation, not only in Austria but also in key foreign markets. “I assume a lot of people are limiting their vacation budget – and a winter vacation is expensive.”
The most expensive day ticket now costs 68 euros
Setting the ticket prices for the coming winter will be a balancing act for the cable car companies: which increases are economically necessary and at the same time reasonable for customers? In the Schladming region (Planai, Haus, Reiteralm) the day ticket for adults costs 68 euros this year (last year 60.50 euros)! You stay below the symbolic limit of 70 euros – “but the pain threshold for skiers could be reached soon,” says Fritz.
What about other ski areas in Styria? Prices on the Tauplitz have increased by seven percent, a day ticket now costs 48 instead of 45 euros. On the Kreischberg it will be eight to ten percent more – “we will certainly stay below 60 euros”, Fussi promises.
Concerns about the future of small ski resorts
Smaller ski areas have also been affected by all these developments. These are considered family-friendly and inexpensive “local providers” where children often ski for the first time. Fritz: “A problem in the current situation could be that they have less financial reserves than large regions.”
Yet Thomas Hopf from the Gaaler Liften, for example, is “not nervous”, they prepare for the season quite normally. Incidentally, ticket prices in the Gaal will increase by nine percent this year.
Green energy is self-generated
It is essential for the industry to save even more energy in the medium term (so far, 20 percent according to the company) and to generate even more green energy itself. The Riesneralm could become a role model: it already relies heavily on renewable energy and has built a power plant for five million euros, in which the electricity for the snow cannons is generated by hydropower.
Some would have shaken their heads at this step at the time, reports boss Erwin Petz. Now the wind has changed: “A month ago, 76 cable car operators from all over Austria came to us for information.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
