Cyclists replace skiers on Austrian Alps as climate change shakes up tourism

Bikes are loaded onto the racks as riders scurry around to catch the last gondola up the mountain to one of Austria's most popular Alpine resorts. 

These racks are usually reserved for skis, but rising temperatures and dwindling snow have pushed Austria to invest in alternatives to winter sports - and top resort Leogang-Saalbach is desperate to get involved in the warmer weather activities.

Mountain bikers from from all over Europe are flocking to the Salzburg region in western Austria to race down the steep slopes. Jonas Ritson, from Estonia, said: "It's just fantastic. Such kind of mountains and slopes, we just don't have them."

Traditionally summer and winter have been responsible for about half each of the Austrian tourist industry's annual revenue. Following Covid, the percentage has tipped toward summer, with the warm season in 2023 bringing in over half of the $31.9 billion the industry generated, according to the Austrian Institute of Economic Research. 

Bikers have also become the second largest group of summer tourists in Austria after hikers, according to a survey, rising from 22 percent before the pandemic to 27 percent in 2023.

According to a joint report by the weather services of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, last year's winter season in the Alps was "characterized by exceptionally mild temperatures." It was the second-warmest winter in Austria since records began in 1851.

Less snowy winters have threatened the existence of Austria's famed ski resorts.

Martin Schnitzer, sports economist at the University of Innsbruck, said: "Climate change has caused tourist destinations to rethink and pick up on trends, such as mountain biking."

Austria's government is aiming to meet the rising demand for legal mountain bike trails by formulating a plan to sign more contracts with landowners including forest owners, who currently restrict access.

Austria's rules, formulated nearly 50 years ago, include a default ban on biking across land unless the owner gives explicit approval. Developing a nationwide strategy is "long overdue," economist Schnitzer said.

The government will look to resorts like Leogang-Saalbach that have managed to become an all-year-round destination. Its famous bike park - which regularly hosts mountain biking world cup races - was the first of its kind in Austria when it was established in 2001.

Over the last 10 years the bike park has seen an increase of almost "70 percent in terms of first-time visitors" to 260,000 last year, said Kornel Grundner, managing director of the resort's network of mountain cable cars.

Economist Fritz hopes the government strategy will provide a much-needed framework "to ensure the tolerable coexistence" of all parties.

"Mountain biking brings with it a lot of potential for conflict, since landowners, forestry, hunters and hikers are not always happy with bikers," he said.

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