The Tyrolean cable car industry must abolish the locals clause for its leisure ticket, which allows unlimited skiing. In return, it is now being made unattractive for outsiders.
Innsbruck – Tyrol is an alpine leisure paradise that other Austrian states and many neighboring regions envy: In winter, you can ski and snowboard on the mountains, which are up to 3,768 meters high; dozens of cable cars take winter sports enthusiasts to the peaks and sometimes even to the eternal ice. In the valleys, you can also ice skate, swim and visit many museums, churches and castles. Over six million vacationers enjoy this offer every year.
Of course, the locals also want to take advantage of this offer. In 2006, a special leisure ticket was created for them, which grants free entry to these attractions. The price is not cheap: adults have to shell out 872 euros for the new leisure ticket for the 2024/24 season, which comes into effect on November 1st. Children born between 2009 and 2018 pay 454 euros. Teenagers pay 698 euros, young adults (up to 23 years old) shell out 785 euros, seniors (829 euros) and people with disabilities 654 euros. That’s a lot of money in all cases. But when you consider that a weekly ski pass in Sölden for adults costs 382 euros in the high season, the whole thing is a bargain.
Skiing holiday in Austria: Annual ticket was only valid for Tyroleans – now anyone can buy it
Until now, this offer, which is valid in over 30 ski areas such as the Nordkette, the Glungezer, the Stubai Glacier or Kühtai, was only reserved for people with their main residence in Tyrol, students up to the age of 27 and employees registered in Tyrol. But that is now over: this local clause will be removed in the new winter season, so that non-residents from Germany, Italy or other Austrian federal states can also purchase the coveted leisure ticket.
For the coming season, there will be “changes in the offer and price structure,” it said in a circular to the approximately 60,000 subscribers, which was sent out in recent days and about which the oRf reported. The most important change: in future, the leisure ticket can be purchased “without restrictions”, i.e. also for those without a primary residence in Tyrol.
The background to this is a lawsuit filed by the Austrian Association for Consumer Information (VKI) in July. The association saw the locals clause as discrimination against other people. The association said it had become aware of the Tyrol Leisure Ticket case due to consumer inquiries and complaints. The Austrian Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying had also called on the Tyrolean cable car industry to stop this tariff practice, threatening fines.
Consumer advocates sued against preferential treatment of locals in Tyrol
According to the VKI, the leisure ticket should be available to everyone. This mainly applies to people from Salzburg or Vorarlberg who live in the border area with Tyrol. In response to a request from the Tyrolean daily newspaper The Tyrolean cable car operators were concerned. They feared that this would set a precedent and that this would lead to a price increase for all other major ticket associations. In general, the entire tariff system was in danger of “slipping”. Tourism does bring prosperity and jobs into the valleys. However, the locals should also benefit from sharing their own homeland with guests from all over the world.
“With ticket associations such as the leisure ticket, the tourism industry wants to offer the local population an attractive and fair offer. It is clear to me that such reduced rates and tickets should continue to be available in the future. I support the tourism industry’s intention to continue to offer such ticket associations,” said Tyrol’s regional leader Anton Mattle (ÖVP) in July, clearly siding with the cable car industry. The population cannot bear the negative side effects of tourism, such as traffic, alone and ultimately not benefit financially from it.
The President of the Chamber of Labor, Erwin Zangerl, also criticized: “I cannot understand why the Association for Consumer Information, which is conducting this procedure on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, is threatening this offer for the people of Tyrol with a lawsuit!”, raged the union official. And continued: “It is incomprehensible to trigger a debate about envy because consumers from other federal states have allegedly turned to the VKI because of unequal treatment.” For many Tyroleans, offers such as the leisure ticket are the only way to be able to afford skiing at all.
Outcry in Tyrol because locals’ privilege is being abolished – but it is being made difficult for foreigners
After the fierce outcry from Tyrol, the VKI withdrew its lawsuit. But intensive discussions followed. The result: “We have to give in,” explained Nordkettenbahnen managing director and leisure ticket chairman Thomas Schroll to the Tyrolean daily newspaperThe local clause has been withdrawn, and now anyone can buy the coveted leisure ticket. However, the price has increased significantly: last year, the ticket for adults cost 755 euros, 117 euros less. In addition, online sales, which would be of interest to non-residents, have been discontinued.
Another catch: From now on, you can only buy the ticket on site at Advance booking offices in Tyrol and buy from participating cable cars. The ticket is significantly cheaper if purchased in advance between October 1st and 31st, with an adult ticket costing just 727 euros instead of 872 euros. Those who live further away from Tyrol will not have to travel especially to buy a reduced ticket. The family tariff with significantly cheaper prices for children is also only available in advance between October 1st and 31st.
The fact that discounts for locals are on shaky ground was already proven in 2016 by an Austrian who took the case to the German Federal Constitutional Court over a 2.50 euro discount for locals in a leisure pool in Berchtesgaden – and won. The local tariff has also been an issue in Bavarian ski resorts. At the same time, transit traffic is a constant issue in Tyrol: the regular Block handling for trucks in Kufstein and at the Brenner anger the neighbours Germany and Italy. The transport minister of the southern neighbour Matteo Salvini has filed a complaint with the EU Now there is also the threat of a blockade of the Brenner motorway by a demonstration by local residents.
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