Hobex Winter Season 2025/2026 data shows International guests bring purchasing power, clear trend towards digital payment

International guests from long-haul markets will generate the highest revenues in Austria during the 2025/26 winter season. Guests from the USA, Australia, and Scandinavia are contributing above-average growth – and significantly higher spending per stay. At the same time, the sale of ski tickets and rental services is shifting noticeably towards e-commerce and self-service. This is shown by the latest analysis of aggregated and anonymized card transactions from hobex, published this year for the first time in cooperation with the Austrian Retail Association.

hobex is a leading Austrian provider of high-quality payment solutions for the retail, service, and tourism sectors, and the market-leading payment provider for hotels, restaurants, and mountain railways. Current data from millions of anonymized card transactions in the Alpine region provides insightful perspectives on tourism developments during the 2025/26 winter season.

International guests drive sales and growth

While card transactions from guests in Austria and Germany each increased by around 9 percent last winter season, international source markets developed much more dynamically. Card payments from guests in the USA rose by 37 percent, from Australia by 20 percent, from Sweden by 17 percent, and from the United Kingdom by 13 percent. This clearly indicates that demand from more distant countries of origin is growing at a significantly above-average rate.

Significant differences are also evident in average card spending in the accommodation sector. The overall hobex average is €394 per transaction. Austrians are the most frugal, averaging €263. Guests from Luxembourg average €777, those from Switzerland €696, and those from the USA €679 per transaction. International guests more frequently book higher-priced hotel categories, thus generating significantly higher revenue per stay. This growth is therefore not solely driven by increasing guest numbers, but also by a clearly discernible shift in purchasing power.

Digitalization is booming. There's a clear trend towards online services and vending machines.

At the same time, the way people shop and pay for things is changing noticeably in the 2025/2026 winter season. While card payments directly at the point of sale (POS) are increasing by 16 percent, online transactions are growing significantly faster at 29 percent. This trend is particularly pronounced in ski rentals, where e-commerce is growing by as much as 40 percent. Equipment for winter holidays is increasingly being reserved and paid for online and then conveniently picked up on site.

Local ski lift operators are also feeling the effects of this surge in digitalization. Compared to last year, ski tickets are being purchased less frequently at traditional ticket counters and increasingly from vending machines or booked online in advance. A comparison of sales channels clearly illustrates this shift: while POS sales accounted for 81 percent of ski ticket sales in 2023, this figure is expected to drop to 70 percent in 2026. At the same time, the share of vending machine sales is rising from 14 percent to 17 percent, while the online share more than doubles from 5 percent to 13 percent.

Payment data as a competitive advantage

Clear competitive advantages can be derived from your own payment data. "These data-driven insights offer enormous potential for better business decisions. However, this potential is still underestimated by businesses – not only in tourism, but across all sectors from retail to services," says Michael Bratl, CEO of hobex. "Payment data offers opportunities because it shows us very early on which guest groups are currently arriving and how they are spending. For example, if we see a significant increase in US transactions, businesses know: Now we're seeing high-spending guests with different expectations. They can then respond – with adjusted opening hours, English-speaking staff, premium offers, or targeted packages. Those who use their data not only sell more – but sell more effectively."

The 2025/26 winter season shows that international guests are spending significantly more and are attracting companies that offer digital services and payment options.

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