As of: March 27, 2024, 11:20 a.m
By: Romina Kunze, Marcus Giebel
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Uncertain whether skiing will still be possible on the Großglockner/Heiligenblut in the future.
The operators are currently struggling with politicians to find a solution.
The signs point to farewell.
Heiligenblut am Großglockner – Due to the low occupancy, operations have already been restricted, and now the Großglockner/Heiligenblut ski area in Austria is threatened with complete closure.
It has been in financial difficulties for some time and costs significantly more than it earns.
The operator sees only one way out: support from politics.
Existential fear on the Großglockner: ski resort operator demands help from politicians
According to media reports, on many days this season only around half of the eleven facilities in the ski area, which covers 47 kilometers of slopes, could be used.
The two highest systems, Viehbühel and Hochfleiss, were not even put into operation.
The Fleißalm tunnel lift, the adjacent Fleißbahn chairlift and the Ederfeld button lift only brought winter sports fans onto the slopes on weekends in January; they are scheduled to be switched off after Easter Sunday.
Gloomy prospects: The last descent could soon be coming up in the Heiligenblut/Großglockner ski area.
© IMAGO / Frank Sorge
The operators are correspondingly afraid of having to pull the plug on the entire ski area after the season finale on April 7th.
As the news agency
Austria Press Agency (APA)
reports, the operating families Schmidl and Schröcksnadel are demanding that the public sector close the resulting financial gap.
But politics doesn't play along.
On Monday, March 11th, the operators and the municipality of Heiligenblut met with State Councilor Sebastian Schuschnig (ÖVP), but were unable to reach an agreement.
District administrator takes a clear stance: Financial help for the ski area “will not be available”
The political representatives and the operators are arguing about the future of the ski area.
The political proposal is that 100 percent of the shares in the mountain railways should be handed over to a regional group of companies for one euro.
This was also the price that the current owners paid the municipality for the ski area in 2001.
A group of investors who do not yet want to reveal their names are said to be ready to take on the accumulated debt.
The sum is said to be in the millions.
The lift operation generates a turnover of four million euros and the loss is said to be two million euros.
However, the operating families see it differently.
At the meeting they are said to have suggested two alternatives: either tax funds are made available to cover the deficit or the state leases the ski area for several million euros.
From the district administrator's point of view, both are unacceptable: “The financing from tax revenues required by the mountain railways will not be available.
The country is not an ATM.” The 37-year-old politician advocates a real new beginning: “A sustainable solution is needed to renovate the ski area and lead it into the future.
This is only possible with a new start and new partners.”
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Lack of understanding among ski resort operators
The problem is also a climatic one: there is a lack of snow in many places and the temperatures are too mild.
Another ski area in Upper Austria closed on March 1st.
A large ski area in Bavaria could not be saved from bankruptcy even with millions in funding.
The plight is also reflected not least in the prices in the huts and ski passes for the lift.
The situation surrounding the future of the ski area seems deadlocked, and the operators seem to have little idea of a reorientation.
Instead, they are considering closure: “The proposal from the state and municipality cannot be implemented,” they criticize.
They critically question “why the names of prospective buyers are not mentioned and why they need to be contacted by the municipality”.
In their opinion, contact can also be made directly with the operators.
The lifts in the ski area will still be running until April 7th - and then?
Three scenarios are currently being discussed internally, which Franz Xaver Gruber, spokesman for the mountain railways, believes are possible: In addition to a closure and the possible dismantling of the lifts, these are operation by new investors or independent continued operation.
A decision should be made in a few weeks.
The closure means a catastrophe for winter sports enthusiasts and the community.
Mayor Martin Lackner (ÖVP) hopes that all lifts can continue to be used.
Investments are required.
“It is not yet possible to give exact figures about the cost structure of what it will look like after a renovation,” the ORF quotes the politician, who has been in office since 2021: “Significant amounts will definitely be necessary to keep the ski area fit for the future to develop."
A village in Switzerland could only resist the same fate by joining forces.
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