Best Austrian summer mountain railways issues Summit charter “TOGETHER ON THE MOUNTAIN”

The mountains are used in more diverse ways today than ever before: After taking the cable car up, families, hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers, climbers, paragliders, dog owners, and many more meet there with very different expectations and needs. For this coexistence to be successful, shared values ​​and clear rules are essential.

With the summit charter “TOGETHER ON THE MOUNTAIN – Experience, Enjoy, Preserve,” Austria’s best summer mountain lifts are setting a strong example for responsible behavior in the mountains. A visit to Serfaus clearly demonstrates how the charter raises awareness among guests, encouraging them to make simple, considerate choices and thus contribute to preserving the mountain environment for future generations.

25 Years of Best Austrian Summer Mountain Railways: Quality Initiative with a View to Tomorrow

For 25 years, the Best Austrian Summer Mountain Lifts have been driving forces for quality and sustainable development in alpine summer tourism. This seal of approval now unites 84 member businesses with 101 themed mountains, all sharing the common goal of consciously shaping the mountain summer experience and taking responsibility for their region.

Sustainability is not an isolated project, but a central element of the quality initiative. In addition to collaborations like the KlimaTicket Österreich, which encourages guests to travel in a climate-friendly way, the focus is primarily on continuously raising members' awareness of further measures, supporting them with expertise, and creating concrete implementation opportunities. The Summit Charter is an important building block in this regard: it defines clear, understandable guidelines for guests, from respectful treatment of grazing animals and waste prevention to consideration for other visitors.

“When we talk about the Summit Charter today, we’re talking about another building block in our quality and sustainability initiative for the summer season in the mountains,” emphasizes Kornel Grundner, spokesperson for the Best Austrian Summer Mountain Lifts. “What’s important is that it’s not just the campaign that counts, but the promise behind it. All member businesses commit to taking responsibility and actively encouraging their guests to adopt sustainable practices in the mountains.”

From regional pioneers to supra-regional guidelines

The development of the summit charter deliberately built upon proven initiatives from the federal states, such as “Mountain World Tyrol – Experience Together”, “Respect Your Limits” and “In Our Nature”.

“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel,” explains Kornel Grundner. “There are successful initiatives in the federal states that we have brought together. This allowed us to define guidelines that apply across regions for respectful coexistence in the mountains – from Vorarlberg to Styria.”

From the valley station to the hiking area: How the charter is received by guests

To implement the Summit Charter, the mountain railways are focusing on clear visibility throughout the entire guest journey. The current location in Serfaus demonstrates how this collaboration can look in practice: Here, the Summit Charter is visible along the entire guest journey, from the valley station to the Hög Adventure Park and beyond.

“This coexistence of families, hikers, athletes and alpine farming only works if we have common rules and a basic understanding of how we interact with each other and with nature. The summit charter provides us with a clear framework for this, without us resorting to finger-wagging,” says Stefan Mangott, Managing Director of the Komperdell cable car company and spokesperson for the BÖSB Tyrol.

In everyday practice, this means that guests encounter the summit charter at valley and mountain stations, at entry and exit points, at key locations in the hiking area, on information screens, in program booklets, on the website, and on the mountain railways' social media channels. "Every excursion on the mountain leaves its mark, and together we can decide whether this mark is positive," says Mangott.

Shared values ​​for a heavily used natural area

This is crucial, because the mountain environment is increasingly under pressure: as a workplace, as a living space, and as a recreational setting. "Tyrol is an alpine sports and tourism region and, at the same time, a sensitive natural and living environment," emphasizes Deputy Governor Josef Geisler. "The fact that so many interests converge is an opportunity, but it can also lead to conflicts if there are no clear expectations and rules of engagement."

The summit charter helps to make shared values ​​visible and understandable: “We must keep both in mind: nature as a habitat and the mountains as an economic and recreational area. This only works with good infrastructure, mutual consideration, and a shared understanding of how we use our natural spaces,” says Geisler. Particular attention is paid to alpine pastures and forests, where agriculture and forestry, hunting, tourism, hikers, and sports enthusiasts come together in close proximity.

Away from prohibition signs, towards shared responsibility

From a forestry perspective, the summit charter is another important step towards a modern understanding of visitor management. The focus is on enabling, not preventing, experiences in nature. Therefore, the approach doesn't involve prohibition signs, but rather addressing how visitors can behave in a way that allows them to enjoy nature while simultaneously protecting it.

“Here in Tyrol, we have been working for years to defuse conflicts of use at an early stage and thus secure sustainable management and nature experiences in the long term. In many regions, we have already established a constructive dialogue between forestry, agriculture, hunting, and tourism – for respectful coexistence,” said Harald Oblasser, Chairman of the Forestry Group of the State of Tyrol. “The Summit Charter strengthens this collaboration and formulates the goals clearly and understandably: It shows how visitors can use paths and sensitive areas without disturbing wildlife, damaging regeneration areas in the forest, or endangering pastureland.”

Guiding principle: Together on the mountain

The Summit Charter is now an integral part of the criteria catalog for Austria's Best Summer Mountain Lifts. During initial certification or recertification, it is reviewed whether and how it is visibly communicated to guests. The initiative is accompanied by practical materials, ranging from posters and information boards to information screens and video clips, as well as content for websites and social media.

However, what matters is not just the campaign itself, but the promise behind it. The guiding principle, TOGETHER ON THE MOUNTAIN – Experience, Enjoy, Preserve, encapsulates this commitment: Responsibility on the mountain is a shared task for mountain railways, guests, regions, forestry, agriculture, and everyone who lives and works in the alpine area. Only if everyone pulls together will the mountain environment be preserved as a living, economic, and recreational space for the long term.

Kornel Grundner: Quality, Sustainability, and a Shared Promise.

For 25 years, Austria's Best Summer Mountain Lifts have stood for quality and innovation in the mountains during the summer season. To mark this anniversary, the certified adventure mountains are consciously looking ahead: Spokesperson Kornel Grundner describes the Summit Charter as the next step in the quality and sustainability initiative, with a clear expectation for all member businesses.

"When we talk about the Summit Charter today, we're talking about another building block in our quality and sustainability initiative for the summer season in the mountains. It's important to understand that it's not just the campaign itself that counts, but the

promise behind it. All member businesses commit to taking responsibility and actively encouraging their guests to adopt sustainable practices on the mountain."

Stefan Mangott: How "TOGETHER ON THE MOUNTAIN" is lived in Serfaus.

The example of Serfaus shows that the charter works in everyday life: Along the guest journey from the valley station to the hiking area, visitors encounter the messages precisely where decisions are made: on the mountain itself.

Stefan Mangott, Managing Director of the Komperdell cable car company and spokesperson for the BÖSB Tirol (Tyrolean Alpine Association), describes the coexistence on the mountain as follows: "This coexistence of families, hikers, athletes, and alpine farming only works if we have common rules and a basic understanding of how we interact with each other and with nature. The Summit Charter provides us with a clear framework for this, without us resorting to finger-wagging."

Josef Geisler: Shared Values ​​for a Heavily Used Natural Environment

. The Tyrolean mountains are simultaneously a habitat, an economic area, and a recreational setting. Tourism, agriculture, forestry, hunting, the local population, and visitors all interact here in close proximity. Deputy Governor Josef Geisler emphasized at a press conference why a clear framework is so important: “Tyrol is an alpine sports and tourism destination and, at the same time, a sensitive natural and living environment. The fact that so many interests converge is an opportunity, but it can also lead to conflicts if there are no clear expectations and rules.”

The Summit Charter helps to make these shared values ​​visible and understandable. The focus is on balance: nature as a habitat on the one hand, and the mountains as an economic and recreational area on the other.

Harald Oblasser: Away from prohibition signs, towards shared responsibility.

From a forestry perspective, the goal is to make nature experiences possible while simultaneously protecting sensitive areas. Harald Oblasser spoke of a cultural shift: away from prohibition signs, towards shared responsibility and clear information.

"The Summit Charter strengthens this collaboration and formulates the goals clearly and understandably: It shows how visitors can use paths and sensitive areas without disturbing wildlife, damaging regeneration areas in the forest, or endangering grazing land."

About the "Best Austrian Summer Mountain Lifts" Seal of Approval:

The "Best Austrian Summer Mountain Lifts" seal of approval is an initiative of the Austrian Cable Car Association (Austrian Federal Economic Chamber) and stands for quality, cooperation, and sustainable regional development. The seal unites the experts and pioneers of Austrian summer mountain tourism and currently has 84 members with 101 themed mountains. Only businesses that meet at least 100 quality criteria become one of the Best Austrian Summer Mountain Lifts. Specializing in five themed areas – Adventure, Family, Panorama & Nature Experience, Culinary Delights, and Art & Culture – members must undergo recertification every three years. A diverse range of experiences is guaranteed – which is one of the reasons why the seal of approval has become an important factor for holidaymakers when choosing a destination.

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