Positive balance

World Ski Championships make tourism professionals throughout the country rejoice

The pictures from Saalbach provided advertising for Salzburg's tourist resorts.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

The title competitions in Saalbach-Hinterglemm brought publicity for the whole of Salzburg. Despite little snow, the hoteliers' interim summary of the winter is positive.

With almost 175,000 fans on site, the World Ski Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm were a complete success. But it's not just the tourism professionals in the Glemmtal who are celebrating. The title fights brought publicity for the whole of Salzburg. "The impact is extremely positive. The images were wonderful. This will have a positive impact in the long term," says Walter Veit, President of the Austrian Hotel Association, from Obertauern.

In the short term, there will be a slight decline in overnight stays in Saalbach. As reported, many double rooms were only single occupancy due to the World Cup squad. However, this will be more than compensated for by the long-term advertising value of the World Cup images. Other Salzburg tourist resorts have also benefited from the Saalbach hype surrounding the ski races. "There has been a certain shift. Some families have left Saalbach because of the World Cup hustle and bustle. But these guests have also stayed with us," says Veit.

Bavarians and Dutch arriving later this year
In general, Salzburg's top hotelier is satisfied with the winter season so far. "February went very well," says Veit. By the end of March, tourism will be "heading for a slight plus", he believes. The Bavarian carnival vacations in the first week of March, which do not coincide with the semester break in Austria this year, will help. The Dutch spring break season also only started this week. In comparison, there were 15.6 million overnight stays nationwide last winter. That was almost the same as the year before.

It remains to be seen how the entire winter will develop this year, says Veit. A lot also depends on the weather in April and how long the ski resorts remain open. Easter is unusually late this year. "Many resorts may already be focusing on hikers and cyclists," explains Veit.