Tirol is currently enjoying another record summer season with Mediterranean temperatures, clearer air with fewer particles and many fresh mountain lakes to cool off in.
The winter season visitor numbers increased again (6.6% increase in Oetz) and this summer is on track to be another record year with estimates suggesting a 5% increase in the Ötztal and even higher in the Arlberg – circa 10% in St Anton.
Music to our ears and our buyers who will profit from renting out their apartments to the growing number of visitors opting for commercially rented apartments – rising at 18% year on year.
One thing that is noticeable this year is the sheer number of tourists hiring out e-bikes even in the most traditional winter locations like Sölden (will receive nearly half a million visitors this summer) and St. Anton (our Mountain Spa Residences development is fully booked right now – 5 apartments left for sale).
Up here, mountain and hybrid e-bikes are main choices as riders of all ages and abilities can now take on the high altitude and steeper climbs thanks to powerful lithium batteries which help propel them to the top of the mountain without collapsing a lung.
The sense of achievement is terrific, and you can do the hard, uphill slog again and again or go further and make a full day out of it going from hut to hut.
Is it cheating? Not really when you consider the work-out is longer and the higher altitudes you can reach means the effective oxygen content drops from 21% to 14% increasing your cardiac output.
No wonder Austria now ranks third for e-bike market share behind the Netherlands and Belgium but in front of Switzerland, Germany and Denmark (source: VCÖ). More Austrians now own an e-bike than a second car.
