Salzburg Ski Tourism Breaks Records: January 2025 Sets All-Time High for Overnight Stays

Michael FultonMichael Fulton

TL;DR

Salzburg's ski regions have achieved unprecedented tourism success with over 7.34 million overnight stays from November 2024 to January 2025. January 2025 set a new all-time record with nearly four million overnight stays, surpassing the previous high from 2020.

Level Up Your Ski Day — Download SnowStash on the App Store

Salzburg Ski Regions Celebrate Record-Breaking Tourism in January 2025

Salzburg's winter tourism has reached unprecedented heights according to preliminary figures from the state statistics office. Businesses recorded more than 7.34 million overnight stays from November 2024 to January 2025, with January 2025 setting a new all-time record of nearly four million overnight stays.

"This is a top figure and exceeds the previous record in 2020 by around 13,200 overnight stays," highlights Christine Nagl from the state statistics office. The preliminary district figures for January show the remarkable distribution across Salzburg's ski regions:

  • Pinzgau: 1,835,275 overnight stays (46.3 percent)
  • Pongau: 1,482,256 overnight stays (37.4 percent)
  • Lungau: 279,869 overnight stays (7.0 percent)
  • City of Salzburg: 184,369 overnight stays (4.6 percent)
  • Tennengau: 98,788 overnight stays (2.5 percent)
  • Flachgau: 87,719 overnight stays (2.2 percent)
The Grand Hotel and Casino in Zell am See
The Grand Hotel and Casino in Zell am See. Credit: SnowStash

Deputy Governor Stefan Schnöll noted, "The tourism engine in the state is running at full speed. This secures many jobs in the regions. In Pinzgau and Pongau in particular, the varied range of sports, events and culinary offerings attracts guests from all over the world. It is also positive that we can see an increase in overnight stays in all districts and that city tourism has picked up again. The so-called 'January gap' that used to exist after the Christmas holidays has also de facto disappeared."

The winter season's strong start from November to January was particularly evident in the districts south of the Lueg Pass. The leader in the district ranking is Pinzgau with around 3.1 million overnight stays (41.8 percent).


Here's an overview of the preliminary figures from the state statistics for the three-month period:

  • Pinzgau: 3,072,955 overnight stays (41.8 percent)
  • Pongau: 2,562,617 overnight stays (34.9 percent)
  • City of Salzburg: 690,698 overnight stays (9.4 percent)
  • Lungau: 481,501 overnight stays (6.5 percent)
  • Flachgau: 319,263 overnight stays (4.4 percent)
  • Tennengau: 214,466 overnight stays (3.0 percent)
Looking back towards Kaprun from Zell am See
Looking back towards Kaprun from Zell am See. Credit: SnowStash

Of the approximately 7.34 million overnight stays between November 2024 and January 2025, around 2.95 million were by tourists from Germany, representing 40.2 percent of all visitors. About 1.54 million Austrians (21.1 percent) spent their holidays in Salzburg, while around 805,000 came from the Netherlands (11 percent). The remaining 27.7 percent included visitors from the Czech Republic (around 252,000 overnight stays) and the United Kingdom (around 244,000 overnight stays).

About the author

Michael Fulton

Michael Fulton

Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.

50+ resorts visited15 years skiing

Keep reading

More from the SnowStash desk

FIS Weighs Holding World Championships in Almost Every Winter, Starting 2032

FIS Weighs Holding World Championships in Almost Every Winter, Starting 2032

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation is looking at a major shake-up to its title events calendar. From 2032, World Championships could run not just in odd-numbered years but in every non-Olympic winter too, effectively putting a global title event on the calendar almost every season. The FIS Council has approved the concept following a feasibility study, though an accelerated rollout as early as 2028 is also under consideration.

4 Sept 2026
Mount Buller Becomes Latest Australian Resort to Call Time Early on 2026

Mount Buller Becomes Latest Australian Resort to Call Time Early on 2026

Mount Buller closes out its 2026 season this Sunday, joining Falls Creek, Hotham and Charlotte Pass in a cluster of closures landing almost simultaneously and roughly a month ahead of schedule. The culprit is stark: Spencers Creek's benchmark snow depth hit 31.2cm on 3 September, just 18% of the 73-year average and an all-time low for this point in the season. Six of Victoria and NSW's best-known resorts will have shut their lifts early within a span of about two and a half weeks.

4 Sept 2026
Tremblant to Add New Timber Summit Ski Sector for 2027/28 Season

Tremblant to Add New Timber Summit Ski Sector for 2027/28 Season

Tremblant has confirmed a major expansion of its Quebec ski area, with a new Timber Summit sector adding 62 acres of terrain, eight trails and a high-speed quad chairlift for winter 2027/28. It's part of a CAD 42.5 million investment that also includes a new beginner learning zone at Versant Soleil opening this coming season. The project has grown considerably since it was first announced back in 2020, when it carried a far smaller budget and an opening date that never eventuated.

2 Sept 2026
Mount Hotham to Close for the 2026 Season on Sunday, September 6

Mount Hotham to Close for the 2026 Season on Sunday, September 6

We knew when the Bird Bath Pond Skim showed up on Hotham's Instagram that the season was on its way out. It's been a rough one - I only managed two days on snow all year, at Falls Creek - and now Baw Baw, Selwyn and Hotham have all called it, possibly the worst Australian season I've seen in a decade. Hotham's last day of lift operations is Sunday, 6 September, with a Retro Day, Father's Day après and closing sales before the lifts stop turning for good.

1 Sept 2026
Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028

Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028

Thredbo Alpine Resort has confirmed plans to replace its 37-year-old Gunbarrel quad chairlift with a new six-seat Doppelmayr D-Line, targeting winter 2028. The AUD 35 million project will keep travel time roughly the same but lift capacity from 2,800 to 3,000 skiers per hour. It's part of a broader investment push that also includes doubled snowmaking capacity at Friday Flat for 2027, with the ageing Kosciuszko Express now flagged as the resort's next major lift replacement after Gunbarrel.

31 Aug 2026
Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured

Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured

An aerial tram carrying around fifty passengers struck the boom of a construction crane on the route to Pic Blanc at Alpe d'Huez on Wednesday morning, injuring 23 people, three seriously. The cabin tipped on impact before the operator reversed it to right the car. Most of the injured were treated on site, with five taken to hospital in Grenoble, including a pregnant woman assessed as a precaution.

28 Aug 2026
Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do

Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do

A deadly flood on the Nepal-China border, a decade-old tragedy on Italy's Marmolada, and an unstable glacier right now above a village near Zermatt - three very different mountain ranges, the same underlying story. Warming ice is destabilising terrain that was considered settled for generations, and the results range from catastrophic floods to slow-motion monitoring situations that could go either way.

27 Aug 2026
Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September

Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September

Tyrol's highest ski area is gearing up to open a full month ahead of most of the Alps. The Pitztal Glacier is scheduled to start its 2026/27 season on Saturday 26 September, running through to 2 May 2027, with the lower-altitude Rifflsee area following in December. High-altitude terrain up to 3,440 metres gives the glacier a head start on snow, though as always, the actual opening extent will depend on how September's weather plays out. Early online ski pass bookings can save up to 30%.

26 Aug 2026