Kohl Partners - Mood Radar Winter Season 2025/26

Nearly 200 people participated in this year's seasonal survey conducted by Kohl & Partner. The general mood is less pessimistic than last year. Achieving occupancy rates and the pressure to enforce the necessary pricing have become the biggest challenges for tourism stakeholders. A reluctance among guests to spend money locally is also noticeable.

• Despite growing concerns about occupancy rates and price enforcement, a more positive mood is noticeable compared to last year.

• Interim results from the latest sentiment survey by tourism consultancy Kohl > Partner regarding the 2025/26 winter season.

“The tourist mood has developed positively compared to last year, and a large majority are satisfied with the winter season. The booking forecast for the summer is also encouraging for many businesses,” explains Helmut List, Managing Partner at Kohl > Partner.

Overall sentiment: Slight improvement, but still significantly below the previous year (2023/24).

On a scale of 1 (pessimistic) to 5 (optimistic), last year's survey yielded a subdued average score of 3.4, which this year shows a positive trend at 3.6. This likely reflects the favorable start to the winter season. The level of the previous year, 2023/24, could not be reached.

Country comparison: Similar mood to the previous year, although pessimistic voices have decreased overall.

The mood in Austria has improved the most (from 3.4 to 3.6). Bavaria remains at the bottom of the list for tourist sentiment in winter with 2.7, which is certainly influenced by the climatic changes of recent years. South Tyrol's sentiment level is at the same level as last year.

Business situation: Positive interim results

Approximately 70% of businesses rate their current business situation as "very good" or "rather good" compared to the previous year. The number of responses describing the situation as "mediocre" has increased, while assessments of a poor business situation have decreased.

Biggest challenges: Shifts over the years are noticeable, with concerns about capacity utilization and price enforcement.

The biggest challenges are not, as before, rising costs, but rather securing occupancy rates and enforcing pricing. A positive development is the improved situation regarding staff recruitment. People seem to have become accustomed to the shorter lengths of stay. The snow situation is perceived as somewhat less critical this year. There is growing dissatisfaction with bureaucracy and regulations.

Occupancy in winter 2025/26: Current occupancy is better than last year.

Initial statistical data on overnight stays are confirmed by survey participants due to the better occupancy rate compared to the previous year.

Booking forecast for the remainder of the winter season: Despite the postponement of holidays from March to February, more than half expect the same number or more bookings.

In mid-February, respondents tended to view the booking outlook for the remaining winter season as weaker than the previous year, which may be influenced by the postponement of Carnival week back to February. The decisive factor here will be short-term developments, which, based on experience, depend on snow conditions, weather, and temperatures in the target markets.

Price enforcement in winter: 68% are still satisfied with it!

Although price enforcement is now among the top three biggest challenges, 68% of respondents are still satisfied with it this winter. A quarter are neutral again, and only 6% are currently dissatisfied with price enforcement.

Guest consumption patterns: Similar picture to previous years

Assessments of guests' consumption and spending habits show mixed trends, with a simultaneous increase in both positive and negative evaluations. Overall, the trend towards more conscious holiday spending remains at a similar level to previous years.

Sales expectations for winter 2025/26: Improved outlook thanks to a good start to the winter season and solid price enforcement

The assessments of sales expectations for the current winter season show a positive trend compared to last year. Almost half of the businesses anticipate higher sales than last year, which underlines the statements regarding solid price enforcement and a good first half of the winter.

Staffing situation: Significant improvement compared to previous years

Nearly 80% of the surveyed companies rate their staffing situation this winter positively. Currently, only 21% say they are experiencing a staff shortage.

Looking ahead to summer 2026: Cautious optimism continues.

The survey reveals a predominantly positive outlook for the upcoming summer season. 47% of respondents are optimistic and expect a good summer. 43% are neutral, and only 8% are pessimistic about the next season.

The booking forecast shows that 26% of businesses already have more bookings on the books than last year, while 29% are still behind last year's booking levels. Around 44% are at the same level as last year.

Conclusion of the mood radar for the 2025/26 winter season

The latest survey shows a slight improvement in the tourist mood compared to last year. A good start to the winter season, solid pricing, and overall better occupancy rates mean that many businesses are satisfied with the current season. At the same time, the environment remains challenging: the biggest hurdles currently lie less in costs and increasingly in ensuring occupancy and enforcing prices in a more sensitive market. Guest spending habits also remain cautious, confirming the trend toward more conscious holiday spending.

A positive aspect is the significant improvement in the staffing situation, which has noticeably improved after several tense years. At the same time, increasing bureaucracy and rising political demands continue to cause dissatisfaction within the industry.

Looking ahead, there is a cautious optimism: both the booking forecast and the expectations for summer 2026 are giving many businesses a positive outlook, even though short-term developments continue to play an important role.

“The signs for the rest of the season are good, but in tourism, the final reckoning is always only made at the end. Especially in a volatile market environment, short-term developments remain a crucial factor,” summarizes Helmut List, Managing Partner at Kohl & Partner.

https://www.kohl-partner.at/