 Poster: A snowHead
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Ski Area residents may soon once again pay less for their ski pass than tourists.
The EU Council adopted a decision two weeks ago calling on the European Commission to look specifically at regions affected by seasonal tourism.
Einheimischentarife',
Austria sees this as an opening to introduce Local Rates again , or lower rates for ski passes for residents, legally possible.
Significant Decision
The discussion has been going on for some time in mountain tourist regions, where residents often complain that they pay the same high prices as holidaymakers in their own living environment.
Austrian cable car trade association, and the Austrian ministry also sees the decision as an important move towards a legally tenable solution for resident rates.
Currently Regulation prohibits unjustified discrimination on the basis of nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market.
Now, many regions are circumventing this regulation by not selling season ski passes online and limiting the sales period to the month of October or November when there are few tourists.
Political breakthrough for ski resorts
Ski resorts will not immediately be allowed to introduce cheaper ski passes for residents. The EU Regulation is still in force. The EU Council only asks the EU Commission to review whether there is a solution within EU law for areas with high seasonal pressures.
Austria is leading the push for residents , it is seen as an important political breakthrough. Tyrol and other tourist regions have been raising the problem for some time, because according to them, the European rules take too little account of villages and regions where residents live with mass tourism on a daily basis.
The argument is that the local population makes an important contribution to tourism: through investments, involvement in associations and companies and by contributing to the regional identity on a daily basis.
What does this mean for winter Holiday Makers?
For winter tourists, nothing will change for the time being. The EU Commission must examine within the Geo-Blocking Regulation whether an exception or separate regulation can be made. After that, it will be clear whether ski resorts are actually allowed to give their own residents a discount.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/content/news/geo-blocking-regulation-enters-into-force.html
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NOTE..
If this does come into law.. (Likely) Then the cheap Annual Ski Passes (Currently being offered early in the season for Tourists) IMO will Cease
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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What about all the Mediterranean beach resort residents?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@BoardieK, which passes are they buying in beach resorts?
A lot of the locals round here complain because they're having to pay premium rents, house prices, pricier food shopping etc.
As Stanton says, they got round this with the early season in person sales, but it meant that we missed the first 6 weeks of the autumn season compared to previous years when locals discounts existed.
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Maybe so but without the Piefkes and their money the locals would still be herding goats and their houses would be worth bug all. There are two sides to this particular coin.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Good way of driving customers away,
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@robs1, you think locals discounts would stop people coming to ski areas? Why was everyone coming to Austria (as an example) before they stopped last season?
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| swskier wrote: |
| @robs1, you think locals discounts would stop people coming to ski areas? Why was everyone coming to Austria (as an example) before they stopped last season? |
Because they will go to where the prices are reasonable, if you give locals discounts you need to raise the lost income by putting up the other passes, its more likely that the locals will pay the same as now and the others will go up.
If you paid say £250 for seven days this year and it goes up to say 280 next year some will go elsewhere.
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@robs1, Ok, so when they were offering locals discounts previously, and presumably subsiding that by tourist lift passes, why was it still so popular then?
They offered locals discounts essentially this season, but not officially. You had to buy your pass in person at the cash desk, no online sales and for our valley, only between 10th-30th November (when virtually no tourists are here). So there is no need to hike up prices to subsidise locals discounts, it's already baked in to the price if it is such a thing.
Nothing will change vs how it already is, it just becomes an official locals discount vs the current loop holes they use.
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@swskier, people complain everywhere about high houses often attributed to some outsider group, Londoners is a common one anywhere vaguely commutable to London is a common one.
Hard to see the argument that because one was born ot chose to live in an area with great leisure facilities that others should directly subsidise their enjoyment of it.
And there are so many easy and legal ways to offer locals better value skiing. Very cheap season passes that are only valid for the weekends and bank holidays being an easy one. Or the in-person pre-season sales as some do. Or just a cheapish season pass as largely only those living nearby can make good use of them
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@rambotion, yeah, I'm not up in arms about it don't get me wrong. I took advantage of the locals discount our first two seasons and then the in person pre season sale this year.
Though tbf, the traffic around here on a Saturday we have to deal with, they should be giving our passes away for free 
For our household, our income doesn't rely on tourism at all, so it's not like we benefit as such from the tourists in terms of employment etc (ok my part time instructing does, but that's by the by) but we have chosen to live here and tourism keeps the lifts turning.
I get more than my fair share of value out of a season pass, even if I paid tourist rates. Currently my average day rate is sitting at €11.58 and we've got another 2 months of the pass still to go!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Why would anyone begrudge locals getting a different price.
It’s just a sweetener to help them view the resort in a positive light and the numbers of locals will be tiny compared to the number of tourists so it’s hardly going to impact the price tourists pay.
Same thing happens in lots of places. E.g. Florida where locals can get discounted season passes to the theme parks.
Locals who can go any time also tend to go when the resorts are quietest which helps other local businesses in quiet times.
Interestingly brits can also buy better passes to the Florida parks than visitors from parts of the US. We are gonna spend our budget on passes so it makes economic sense to give us longer time for the same price so we spend more in the restaurants, hotels etc.
Where are those same deals for the ski resorts?! Come on, throw us brits a bone
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Just found the date of the " flash" sale for the PdS winte/ yearly pass , up a handful of euros from last year, its very good value and only on line , the amount we used it this year it worked out at just under 18 euros a day , if we used it everyday of the season it would be under 6 euros per day. Fantastic value, just got to remember the day now 
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| bouquetin wrote: |
| ...the numbers of locals will be tiny compared to the number of tourists so it’s hardly going to impact the price tourists pay. |
Three or four years ago Les Arcs & La Plagne equalised the price for season passes that full-time local residents and everyone else paid (apparently because of this law). The price that non-residents paid was reduced by around 30%, saving over €300, so it was a welcome reduction for me. At the same time different types of season pass were introduced at low rates which were designed to appeal to people who lived in the valley full-time: a 1-day per week pass, 2-days per week, or 20 non-consecutive days across the season. These were competitively priced and were of little interest to non-residents, although were available for anyone to buy.
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You know it makes sense.
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| bouquetin wrote: |
Interestingly brits can also buy better passes to the Florida parks than visitors from parts of the US ...
Where are those same deals for the ski resorts?! Come on, throw us brits a bone |
Because Brits have different holiday patterns to Orlando than most Americans. Typically Brits will go for a fortnight's holiday but Americans go for much shorter vacations, three, four or five days being common. So the theme parks have designed products which suit the different markets they operate in, with the daily rate varying depending on how many days you buy, which is the same as how most ski resorts seem to operate. If Brits want to buy ski passes with the cheapest possible daily rate they can ski lots and buy a season pass.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| bouquetin wrote: |
Interestingly brits can also buy better passes to the Florida parks than visitors from parts of the US ...
Where are those same deals for the ski resorts?! Come on, throw us brits a bone |
Because Brits have different holiday patterns to Orlando than most Americans. Typically Brits will go for a fortnight's holiday but Americans go for much shorter vacations, three, four or five days being common. So the theme parks have designed products which suit the different markets they operate in, with the daily rate varying depending on how many days you buy, which is the same as how most ski resorts seem to operate. If Brits want to buy ski passes with the cheapest possible daily rate they can ski lots and buy a season pass. |
Yes, obviously. It was a very much tongue in cheek post. The theme parks had gone a step further though. Selling passes through UK subsidiaries that are only available to people with a UK address. Do Epic/ikon do something similar in Aus/NZ?
But overall the subject of differential pricing is a very interesting subject.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I live in a different valley to @swskier, so the offers are slightly different. The Freizeitticket that I buy was a locals-only product until last season – you actually had to show up at the Kassa with your residency documents the first time in order to get one. An early-bird discount in October was also offered, and there was another pass with similar coverage aimed at visitors. This season they changed the rules, apparently because of EU law, and anyone could purchase a Freizeitticket though the October discount was still available.
As a result of being able to sell it to anybody, and therefore shifting more passes, the price went up considerably 
If it switches back to being a local product, I doubt the price will be reduced, because why would you do that? The problem is that an expensive product prices out local families, which means the kids don't become the paying skiers of the future.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@swskier, I get that, but the proposal that locals affected by seasonal tourism should somehow be subsidised seems ridiculous. What about (the majority of?) locals who don't ski?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Since I come from a country whose economy is largely based on tourism, I understand the frustration of the locals. However, as mentioned, every coin has two sides. It’s the same in my country. Many islands don’t have enough staff for the police or enough teachers for the schools. The locals complain about it almost every year. But when a teacher finally comes, the same people say: “Yes, you can rent our apartment from October until May. After that you have to leave.”
Sorry mate, but what do you expect after that?
Places like Zillertal had—and still have—a lot of potential for new buildings. . And after a few years people start seeing the consequences. Its almost the same everywhere. In Hauser Kaibling, the Appartment owner told us that the locals youth (e.g. 20 y old) are leaving the place because they cannot afford to buy or rent something. Sorry but are the tourists who made this? or the locals? In Kitzbühel they have a problem because there are many owners who bought Appartments and Houses and they are from Russia and now they do not come etc etc. Yep, ok but who seld that to them? maybe the Immobilier who is based there?
And as @munich_irish said:
“Maybe so, but without the Piefkes and their money the locals would still be herding goats and their houses would be worth bug all. There are two sides to this particular coin.”
Of course not all locals work in tourism. But honestly, today it feels like almost every local has built one or more apartments near, above, or under their house and rents them to tourists.
I was in Sölden in October. The cheapest apartment I found was in Zwieselstein, and it wasn’t really cheap. But it was still the cheapest in the whole area (including Sölden and the villages before it). The owner didn’t even work in tourism, but he built an apartment next to his house and rents it out. And honestly, that village today seems to be mostly apartments and a couple of hotels.
If Sölden and Obergurgl ski resorts didn’t exist, do you think that place would be in the same situation today? I don’t think so. It would probably be almost completely abandoned.
Furthermore...
I had to take the bus that connects the two glaciers above. This bus line basically just shuttles between the two glaciers. That’s it. How much is it? 1km? And the bus driver was also complaining about the Piefkes with their cars, and now the Dutch as well, parking wherever they want, etc. Ok its frustrating...
But if the Piefkes didn’t come, would there even be a bus line between the glaciers? On a Monday morning? For whom? For the 20 locals who might go skiing in bad weather?
But generally if you read the comments from the locals on Facebook about these topics… it’s really disappointing.
Just to mention: this whole story actually started on the Austrian side. The Austrian Consumer Association took the case to court because it was considered to be against EU law. It wasn’t another country complaining, and it wasn’t a random tourist either.
And at the same time, the Imst Bergbahnen received subsidies from the EU to upgrade their lifts. So basically they built a new lift with EU money, but then they don’t want all EU citizens to pay the same price to use that gondola.
And the cherry on top: many years ago an Austrian citizen went to the EU Court because, while he was on holiday in Bavaria, he had to pay more for an outdoor swimming pool than the locals. He had to pay (I think) €4 instead of €2.80.
But ok...generally speaking, i am glad that i spent most of our ski Hoidays in France. I have no idea what they are saying, so i do not bother for such things 
So peace and go skiing...
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 11-03-26 10:14; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Just found the date of the " flash" sale for the PdS winte/ yearly pass , up a handful of euros from last year, its very good value and only on line , the amount we used it this year it worked out at just under 18 euros a day , if we used it everyday of the season it would be under 6 euros per day. Fantastic value, just got to remember the day now
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Oooh, details please @robs1? Been looking at PDS for next season and as @rob@rar suggests we usually buy a seaon pass for a resort / ski area and make multiple trips to maximise the value for money
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 11-03-26 10:17; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Am I being dumb, my region in Italy offers cheaper lift passes to residents, either day passes or seasons. We have to show our residency cards.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Scarlet wrote: |
| The problem is that an expensive product prices out local families, which means the kids don't become the paying skiers of the future. |
Anecdotally, having spoken with a fair few locals with younger families, most, if not all, have abandoned season passes for skiing due to the high price. Since we’ve been here, our local season pass has more than doubled in price (most of the increase coming post-COVID/energy crisis). For families of 4/5/6 skiing is now seen as a luxury that many simply can’t afford.
Our local ex-Mayor and now MEP (Hannes Heide) has been publicly championing a return to discounting ski pass prices for locals (via changing the EU laws regarding the matter), mainly for the reason that Scarlet mentions and also for the loss of facility that lies deep in the national culture.
I, for one, agree….but then I would… 
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@nbt, its the 9th April, 689 euros iirc for full winter pass, full price is just over 1300 so a massive saving, that's 4 euros more than last year , loads of free days in other resorts too, they keep it quiet and its difficult to find it. I googled pds flash sale for 26/27 season .
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| kat wrote: |
| Am I being dumb, my region in Italy offers cheaper lift passes to residents, either day passes or seasons. We have to show our residency cards. |
They shouldn't be, and in theory could get in to a lot of trouble if someone decided to take it up with a lawyer.
Zillertal offered locals discounts last season which was a season later than everyone else stopped. The Tirol snowcard no longer did a locals discount, just an early bird rate, but the local pass was still at a discount with your local residency documents. That disappeared this season.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Jäger wrote: |
| Our local ex-Mayor and now MEP (Hannes Heide) has been publicly championing a return to discounting ski pass prices for locals (via changing the EU laws regarding the matter), mainly for the reason that Scarlet mentions and also for the loss of facility that lies deep in the national culture. |
And I'm sure that promising your constituents cheaper/free things never did a politician any harm...
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Arguments that locals need cheap passes so that the kids become paying customers don't stand up as what is the difference here between a local child and a tourist child? This is especially the case if when that child becomes an adult they will continue to get discounted local rates as they will never pay their way.
Discriminatory pricing based on location within the EU is incompatible within the EU as differences in wealth are dealt with by the EU funding projects in more deprived regions. They can't then have regions that may be recieving EU funding to then fleece other regions. It's nonsense, the EU should stick to it's guns and ban discriminatory pricing within the EU (i.e. ski areas could choose to fleece Brits or Yanks but not Germans).
And no-one has said why the options that Les Arcs goes for wouldn't work for locals. Just offer passes that aren't that appealing for non-residents.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@robs1, on behalf of some friends...Thanks for posting that PDS Flash Sale!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@swskier gotcha, thanks! They probably are just behind here, or maybe my info is out of date, and it has changed in the last year. I usually buy the pass in October so maybe they started promoting it as an early pass. The day ones i haven't checked in a couple of years
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@kat, we were asked for our address when we bought our season pass this year, but that didn't determine whether we could buy it or not. I had a friend based in Munich and a friend based in the UK that both bought the discounted early bird pass this season.
@rambotion, I think the early bird in person only sales are the way around the rules. There was an article in the local news here that the season pass sales in Zillertal were at their highest level as a result of the early bird sale being open to all and not just locals.
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You know it makes sense.
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@swskier, they just need to sell one or two day a week season passes at a price that works out at something like 15-20 euro/day if used every week of the season. Few people living more than an hour away would buy it and those that do probably wouldn't make full use of it. That would be a non-discrimanatory way of providing very good value skiing and preserving alpine ski culture without massively denting the lift company's income
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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do not know for Zillertal but i intended to buy the Tirol Regio Card (even if i didnt)
I spoke with Sölden Bergbahnen per Email, and they told me i have to go there, either alone or with the family to buy the family package in the discounted price, and only in October.
I also had to take with me something that proves that we live in the same house all together + passport photos for me / wife / kids.
So theoretically it was possible for everyone but only in October and only if you personally go and buy it. Not online. On line was possible after the End of October but with the "normal" price. I think the same for Tirolsnowcard, Freizeitticket and Regio Tirol Card.
@swskier, i think thats the case also in Zillertal, or not?
If its will stay like this for the next season we do not know. At least i didnt read/hear something until now.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@turms2, Zillertal pass was only available in person from the Kassa between 10th-30th November, with skiing available from 14th November. No picture or anything required (they took one on a webcam for the pass), but anyone buying it had to be present. So I couldn't buy mine and Mrs Swskier's unless she was with me.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| rambotion wrote: |
| @swskier, they just need to sell one or two day a week season passes at a price that works out at something like 15-20 euro/day if used every week of the season. Few people living more than an hour away would buy it and those that do probably wouldn't make full use of it. That would be a non-discrimanatory way of providing very good value skiing and preserving alpine ski culture without massively denting the lift company's income |
taking as a consideration that someone who live near a resort lets say 45 min or less, will not go to this resort for a ski week as a tourist that was a nice option for the locals. Usually most of them go max two days pro week. Of course not for all of them but for the majority.
Instead of looking for something like this (even if that would not work for me), the lift companies open something like a war between locals vs tourists.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@swskier, ok, not exactly the same , but almost the same. The base is "beeing present", which discourage someone living 500km away (lets say in Frankfurt)
PS i find still really strange that for Tirol Regio Card i had to bring the photos with me...like the 90s
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@rambotion, speaking candidly and perhaps I'm not in the right position to judge as I don't have children, but I think a lot of the locals just complain about the cost of living in general. They all say skiing is too expensive, but have no issue putting up the prices in their bars and restaurants every winter.
Housing is too expensive, we pay less here than we did in the UK for a house virtually the same in terms of size, and I could hit a golf ball to the lift station it's that close.
The Freizeitticket that @Scarlet has I'm sure she would agree is fantastic value for what it is. The early bird price was €727 with kids up to 15 costing €143 and 16-18s costing €364, and that includes unlimited skiing at all the resorts around Innsbruck and a restricted number of days in Ischgl and St Anton. On top of that it also includes access to ice skating, swimming pools, museums, 3 x football matches for the local Bundesliga team and all the summer lifts are included too as well as the summer swimming lakes.
Basically, anything you might do during the leisure time in and around Innsbruck is included in the pass. It's a fantastic deal really.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks for sharing info on the PDS flash sale I don't think details are yet published by Chatel. We purchase this for the family every year - it was only EUR495 a few years ago and has increased gradually over time. There is normally a VIP window of a few days before the flash sale opens where existing season ticket holders can purchase at a cheaper price to the flash sale. There are also pre-season offers that run to September that offer discounted youth tickets and another offer which includes one free child under 13 free with a full paid adult ticket for around EUR 900. The big plus are the free days offered at other resorts for each season ticket holder which includes 5 days in Verbier and 5 days in any other resort in the Haute Savoie:
5 days Winter 25/26 +1 day Summer 2025 offered on 4 Vallées
12 free Winter 25/26 days on the AlpsPass** ski area
5 days Winter 25/26 Espace San Bernardo (La Rosière + La Thuile)
5 days Ski découverte Haute-Savoie Winter 25/26 + 3 days Ski découverte Summer 2025 (summer reserved for annual pass buyers)
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i am curious if there will be a new resort for the next winter (in the extra days)
however its says ", enjoy 31 FREE DAYS in France, Switzerland and Italy." so i suppose it will be the same.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@turms2, As far as I can see the Morzine offer does not list the Swiss partner resorts, only Haute Savoie is included. I suspect / hope its early days and it will be clarified what is actually included closer to the time. .
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| Ozboy wrote: |
Thanks for sharing info on the PDS flash sale I don't think details are yet published by Chatel. We purchase this for the family every year - it was only EUR495 a few years ago and has increased gradually over time. There is normally a VIP window of a few days before the flash sale opens where existing season ticket holders can purchase at a cheaper price to the flash sale. There are also pre-season offers that run to September that offer discounted youth tickets and another offer which includes one free child under 13 free with a full paid adult ticket for around EUR 900. The big plus are the free days offered at other resorts for each season ticket holder which includes 5 days in Verbier and 5 days in any other resort in the Haute Savoie:
5 days Winter 25/26 +1 day Summer 2025 offered on 4 Vallées
12 free Winter 25/26 days on the AlpsPass** ski area
5 days Winter 25/26 Espace San Bernardo (La Rosière + La Thuile)
5 days Ski découverte Haute-Savoie Winter 25/26 + 3 days Ski découverte Summer 2025 (summer reserved for annual pass buyers) |
That's even better then, I did wonder if that was the case as we got a loyalty discount on our mont blanc unlimited pass for several years, this season is our first pds season pass
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FAQ
