Ski holidays in Austria - Call us now on 0800 652 8552

Skiing holidays in Austria - Austria is the home of alpine skiing. The sport began in 1905 in the village of Lilienfeld, not far from Vienna, when pioneer Mathias Zdarsky (1856-1940) organised the first slalom race on the slopes of the local Muckenkogel mountain. Around the same time the Arlberg Region was establishing itself as one of the pioneering downhill-ski areas, thanks to the Arlberg Ski Club and Hannes Schneider's world-famous Arlberg Ski School which offered expertise in the new technique thus superseding the Norwegian Telemark model.

Today Austria has over 600 skiing areas, more than any other country. It does not, however, have the most lifts, occupying third place in this respect with 3,527 against the USA with 3,801 and France with 4,084 according to the Seilbahn Manual of the ski-lifts association, Motor in Schnee (Stein Verlag). There are far fewer ski centres in France but, with notable exceptions such as Arlberg, they have far bigger ski areas. Other nations also tend to have a greater proportion of chair lifts, whilst Austria has more drag lifts than any other country.

Whilst German visitors (who make up Europe’s biggest market with an estimated 12,000,000 skiers) continue to drive down to Austria in ever greater numbers, skiers from further north have in recent years tended to look increasingly to France and to the lower prices of Italy . In the early 1990s, France over took Austria, which had for decades been the favoured skiing country, as the most popular destination for British skiers.

Having said that, there remain many reasons for skiers to head for Austria. Beginners in particular can benefit from the ideal ski holiday experience at one of the smaller ski centres - short airport transfers, high-quality traditional chalet accommodation, picture-book setting, gentle nursery slopes by the idyllic village and prices that are not

as daunting as those in neighbouring Switzerland. The country also boasts he world's only true ski city, in the shape of

beautiful Innsbruck, twice an Olympic centre, with its own area ski pass which includes a ski bus from your hotel to one of eight ski areas, including the extensive year-round skiing on the Stubai glacier and day trips to other big name resorts. There can be few better 'package deals'. At the top end of the 'serious skier' scale, resorts such as St Anton, and Kitzbuhel would rank in any skiers world top ten. For more information on skiing holidays in Austria call freephone 0800 652 8552