Plans to modernize lift infrastructure at Obertauern, Austria’s snowiest non-glacier ski resort, have become the center of a heated debate over environmental review requirements and the future of winter tourism in the Salzburg Alps.
According to Austrian broadcaster ORF, resort operator Gebrüder Krings Bergbahnen GmbH is planning several upgrades, including replacing an existing six-person chairlift with a new eight-person chairlift, as well as making modifications and widening sections of existing pistes. State authorities recently determined that the project does not require a full environmental impact assessment (UVP), concluding that the various measures should be treated as separate projects rather than one interconnected development.
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The state’s environmental advocacy office, the Landesumweltanwaltschaft Salzburg (LUA), disagrees with that interpretation. The agency argues that the lift upgrades and piste modifications should be evaluated together because they collectively require additional terrain and affect the same landscape. Under that interpretation, a more detailed environmental review would likely be required.
ORF reported that the state ultimately found “no factual connection” between the projects and therefore did not mandate a UVP. Resort operator Gebrüder Krings Bergbahnen has also rejected claims that the projects are directly linked, arguing that multiple separate sectors of the ski area are involved. Managing Director Isabella Eschbacher-Krings told ORF that no formal approval process has begun and that planning work is still underway.
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The issue has since become politically charged. According to Salzburg24, Salzburg Deputy Governor Marlene Svazek criticized the environmental office, arguing that it fails to recognize the economic realities of mountain communities that depend heavily on winter tourism. “Without economic success in Salzburg, the state environmental office would not exist either, because then Salzburg could no longer afford its nature conservation,” Svazek said.
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The environmental office pushed back against those claims, stating that it never appealed the state’s decision and never announced plans to do so. In a statement reported by Salzburg24, the agency emphasized that it had simply submitted a critical opinion regarding landscape protection as part of its normal role in the review process. It also noted that nature conservation remains a foundational element of Salzburg’s tourism industry.
Support for the project has also come from Salzburg’s governing People’s Party (ÖVP). Tourism official Stefan Schnöll told Salzburg24 that the upgrades are essential for maintaining the region’s long-term competitiveness, arguing that few areas in Austria are as economically dependent on winter tourism as Obertauern.
The economic stakes are significant. Obertauern, which spans the municipalities of Tweng and Untertauern, has a permanent population of only around 500 residents but offers approximately 9,500 guest beds and records more than one million overnight stays annually and roughly 95% of visitors to Tweng arrive during the winter season, while more than 2,500 people are employed in the area during peak winter months.
The lift in question is the Kingsalm lift, which is currently a 2003 detachable six-chair that provides access to the popular freeride area in the resort. The proposed upgrade would see the lift expand to a detachable, high-speed eight-chair with a bubble. The upgrade would expand the capacity from currently 2,200 people per hour to 3,600 passengers per hour — a boost of 64%. At the Kingsalm lift top station, check points provide maps of easily accessible freeride routes, as well as current avalanche ratings, avalanche safety advice, snow height, and avalanche beacon information.
For Obertauern, a resort whose economy is built almost entirely around winter tourism, the outcome will shape a significant part of the village’s future.
