Lifts at a standstill, empty mountain chalets and hotels — this is what the ski season looked like in large parts of Europe last year.
Some ski resorts in Austria and Germany, for example, didn’t open for a single day — a disaster for the tourism industry.
This year, however, cable car companies and hoteliers were able to breathe a sigh of relief. Despite the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, skiing was and is permitted everywhere, albeit under strict conditions.
“Above all we are very happy that the lifts are open again after the 2020/2021 winter lockdown,” Carolin Kunzmann of the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn told DW. However, she also said that visitor numbers have remained lower than before the pandemic.
In the areas around Germany’s highest mountain, as in many ski areas in the country, the so-called 2G rule applies. “2G” stands for “geimpft oder genesen” — vaccinated or recovered. “Every guest is checked at the base station or at the ticket office,” Kunzmann said.
“Only after proof of vaccination or recovery has been presented will their ski pass be activated.” Although this has led to longer waiting times, especially in the high season during the Christmas vacations, the approach has generally worked well. In addition, FFP2 masks are still mandatory in indoor areas, queuing areas, cable cars and ski lifts.
Austria: A muted start and plenty of après-ski anger
Austria also has strict rules for winter sports enthusiasts. The 2G rule and FFP2 masks are also standard practice here. The country was in lockdown until mid-December, due to soaring infection numbers.
The Robert Koch Institute declared Austria a high-risk area, and the German Foreign Ministry accordingly issued a travel warning.
Many guests, especially from Germany, were understandably put off. 26% fewer holidaymakers than before the pandemic arrived from the neighbouring country, according to estimates by the Austrian hoteliers’ association ÖHV.
But still, the clear majority of tourists visiting Austria are from Germany. In January, the occupancy rate of Austrian hotels was around one third, which, according to the ÖHV, is “too little to operate economically.”