Excellent Winter Season For Graubünden Lift Co’s

The 2024/25 winter season will go down in history with the "excellent" rating for the Graubünden Mountain Railways. Transport revenue increased by 20.4 percent and the number of guests by 13.3 percent compared to the five-year average. This was the best winter season in the past 15 years.

With the closure of ski operations on the Diavolezza and in the Silvrettaareana Ischgl-Samnaun, an excellent 2024/25 winter in Graubünden has come to an end. According to the monitor of the industry organization Bergbahnen Graubünden, transport revenue increased by 20.4 percent and 27.6 percent, respectively, compared to the long-term averages (5 and 10 years), and the number of guests by 13.3 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively. Compared to the pleasing previous year, the increase in transport revenue was 6.1 percent and the increase in guests by
4.5 percent.

This very positive development can be attributed to several reasons:

• An above-average number of sunny days encouraged snow sports. This was also reflected in the fact that the Graubünden mountain railways didn't record any absolute peak days, but rather consistently high capacity utilization. Furthermore, the number of days lost due to wind/storms or snowfall/avalanches was low. A situation one would wish for.
• A phenomenal start with heavy snowfall before Christmas and a stable high pressure system over Christmas/New Year, which enabled top-notch snow sports conditions in a very important season for the industry.
• Optimal temperatures allowed for artificial snowmaking and ensured the preservation of the snow cover. It should be noted that the winter was actually very dry and therefore challenging.
• Only thanks to artificial snowmaking and the willingness of many employees to go the extra mile was it possible to provide a high-quality snow sports offering. The winter of 2024/25 once again demonstrated how important snowmaking is for the entire tourism industry and the suppliers and service providers that depend on it.
• A loyal domestic market, an increase in guests from overseas, and positive consumer sentiment. Snow sports on the mountain continue to meet a need and have gained in importance and value for many guests since the pandemic. In addition to the positive management of the pandemic, the more flexible pricing systems, the focus on quality optimization, and inflation in the eurozone have certainly contributed to this. Dynamic pricing (early booking benefits), attractive annual passes, and international fare associations (Epic Pass, Ikon Pass) are accepted and widely used.

Markus Moser, President of the Graubünden Mountain Railways, summarizes the overall excellent development as follows: "Graubünden is snow sports, and Graubünden is good at snow sports." However, the high demand is also important so that the industry can make its investments in renewal and development in order to remain competitive. "The mountain railways are the driving force behind Graubünden's winter tourism," Moser emphasizes. The Graubünden Mountain Railways generate 92 percent of their transport revenue in winter and 8 percent in summer. This despite the fact that summer transport revenue has doubled since 2006. "Winter revenues are the backbone and enable the necessary service developments to strengthen the summer, which are essential due to climate change," Moser continues.

As we all know, after winter comes summer. The development of summer 2025 will primarily depend on the weather.  "If St. Peter is as kind to us as he was in the winter, summer 2025 will be better than summer 2024, which was very rainy," says Markus Moser, looking ahead. "However, the summer shouldn't be too dry either, otherwise there won't be enough water for snowmaking in the fall," Moser continues.