Tourism in Austrian Alps

Tourism in Austria

Visits to Austria mostly include trips to Vienna with its Cathedral, its "Heurigenschenken" (wine pubs) and romantic Waltz music flair. Worth a visit are Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart, Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol surrounded by the Alps, and the Danube valley with its vineyards, for example the Wachau or Dunkelsteinerwald, which are between Melk and Krems. In the western part of the country the province Vorarlberg reaches the Lake Constance, in the eastern part Neusiedler See.

Of great touristic importance are the Austrian skiing, hiking and mountaineering resorts in the Alps as well as family-friendly recreation areas (e.g. the Witches's Water in Tyrol). The same applies to the numerous Austrian lakes (e.g. Wolfgangsee and other lakes in the Salzkammergut east of Salzburg or Wörthersee in Carinthia).

For visitors interested in Media Art, the Ars Electronica Center in Linz is an absolute must. Since 1979 this center has organized the Ars Electronica Festival and presented the Prix Ars Electronica, the worldwide highest-ranked prize for media art.

Winter Sports in Austria

Austria offers a high density of ski resorts, most of them medium-sized. Most of Austria's ski resorts are not as spectacular and glamorous as the ones in Switzerland and France, but they are more cosy, less prone to mass tourism and a little cheaper. Due to the proximity most winter sport tourists in Austria come from southern Germany.

When to go

The ski season lasts from early December to late March. A small number of ski resorts keep their lifts open all year on glaciers.

The best conditions for skiing are in mid-January, the coldest time of the year. Late February is a good time for sun-seekers.

The most crowded time is the period from December the 25th until January the 2nd. Advanced skiers may want to avoid this time as slopes can be too congested to be enjoyable. All of February is also rather crowded because of school and university vacations.

The least crowded times are early December, mid-January and late March.

How to go

Package holidays are normally more convenient and often cheaper if you plan on skiing for a week only. Airport transfers, flights and accommodation are usually included.

However, they have the disadvantage that they mostly run from Saturday to Saturday, they feature few resorts outside the mainstream, and there is a distinct lack of self-catering accommodation or rooms in private houses in most brochures. These types, however, make up the most popular forms of accommodation in the country.

The increase in low-cost carrier flights to Salzburg, Munich and Friedrichshafen has meant that an increasing number of visitors arrange their own transport and accommodation.

Choosing a ski resort

Price, Size and Location

As a general rule, the larger the ski resort and the higher the elevation above sea level, the higher the price. Ski passes will consume a large proportion of your budget. Beginners will nomally find that they are unable to use most pistes covered by a ski pass in a large resort such as Arlberg.

Ski resorts in Carinthia and Styria tend to offer better value than those in Tyrol and Salzburg and are less crowded.

Large ski resorts have the tendency to treat the tourist like a milk cow while smaller ones make more effort and offer a more personal service.

If you're skiing in late February or March it might be a good idea to head for resorts located at higher elevations (above 2000 m), as milder temparutures can turn the snow heavy and slushy (danger of knee injury) below that.

Athletic experience

Fast lifts (chairlifts and gondolas) mean more skiing than slow lifts (T bar lifts). You get what you pay for. Some resorts have a high proportion of black slopes and are less suitable for beginners.

Apres Ski

Apres Ski is about getting together after an exhausting day of skiing and talking to people in the many bars and pubs. Nowadays, larger resorts also offer organized Apres Ski gettogethers.

Other Activities

Some ski resorts are geared to ski and snowboard alone and others toward a wider range of activities or family tourism. If you're more after relaxation than skiing and partying staying away from purely athletic ski resorts will offer you better value for money.

Practicalities

Avalanche danger

Avalanches are an underestimated hazard and the number one killer of tourists in Austria. In short, don't venture off-piste unless you know exactly what you are doing.

Equipment

There are numerous ski and snowboard rental shops in every larger resort. The choice is normally best made by convenience to the slopes or to accommodation.

When hiring equipment it's a good idea to turn up early, and since Austrians get out of bed early in general, that can mean before 8:30 am. Queuing for an hour to have your ski boots fitted can be very frustrating when you're eager to get to the pistes. It is almost always better to try to arrange ski hire, ski lessons and lift passes as soon as possible after arrival in the resort. Most of the offices will stay open until late afternoon on a Saturday (the main resort changeover day).

Tuition

Austria's ski and snowboard instructor industry is centrally regulated by the government. Licensed ski instructors must take a series of comprehensive state exams to climb up the hierarchy of Skilehrer (conventional ski instructor, mostly part-time workers) , Landesskilehrer (regional ski instructor) and Staatlicher Skilehrer (national ski instructor). Courses can be taken privately or in groups (Ski school). Beginners normally book a ski school for their first week.