Ski resorts in the Czech Republic continue to improve their services for customers and, in particular, invest in efficient technologies so that, even with the variability of weather and energy prices, they can offer winter sports and outdoor activities to the lovers of winter sports and skiing in the expected range and maximum quality.
Approximately 30% of people in Czechia are active skiers/snowboarders.They come from all socio-demographic groups and more than 80% of them want to maintain or increase their level of skiing activity in the coming years.
The Mountain Resorts Association now wants to emphasise the importance of resorts to the functioning of mountain regions and more actively promote the related agenda: the general functioning of tourism, permitting processes
and sectoral issues (water management, state-managed land leases, etc.).
Summer season in the mountains was quite successful
The number of visitors to the Czech mountains in the summer season 2025 was almost the same as last year, which is a pretty good result considering the rainy July. The dispersion of visitors in the individual resorts was not large compared to last year (max. +/- 15%). The Czechs confirmed the reputation of a „nation of cyclists“, with 50–85% of cyclists being transported on cable cars in the mountain resorts focused on „cyclists“ in the summer.
New cableways, enhanced technical snowmaking and improved visitor comfort
More than 850 mil. CZK will be invested by... Domestic mountain resorts are investing more than CZK 850 million in modrenization and improvements in the 2025/26 winter season. The main areas of investment include increasing the comfort of visitors – two new ropeways (Tanvaldský Špičák and the Karolinka Ski Resort in the Beskydy Mountains), connecting ski slopes, extending and improving the safety of ski slopes, as well as improving other services for visitors (ski school/rental facilities and catering facilities, expanding e-shops, automatic sales and ski passes). As in previous years, a major part of the investments is technical snowmaking – modernisation and increase of the number of end elements for more efficient and faster snowmaking of the ski areas, new water storage tanks for technical snowmaking, landscaping on the slopes for higher efficiency of snow management, which brings water and electricity savings, etc.
Ski pass prices in the 2025-26 season in Czechia remain very similar to last year's prices or increase only slightly*. About one third of resorts maintained last year's prices. Other resorts involved in the survey have increased their prices slightly, but only marginally (by 3-4%). The overall price increase for the whole country is estimated by AHS to be around 2-3%, which is roughly in line with inflation over the last year.
It is increasingly true that most Czech ski resorts use minimum and maximum prices (either as floating prices or differentiated by part of the winter season) and that significant savings (20-30%) can be made when buying online. Early purchase from home saves visitors time and money, and operators can better regulate the number of skiers on the slopes. Thus, resorts are developing their e-shops for ski passes, introducing automatic cash registers with code pickup on mobile phones, family packages are also proliferating, etc.
In the Alps** skiing has become more expensive this year (+ 4%). In a rough comparison, a skier in the Czech Republic pays an average of CZK 750-1000 (EUR 30-40) for a day ski pass, in an average Alpine resort he spends EUR 60 and in a premium resort almost EUR 80.
Traditionally, visitors can find up-to-date information about the Czech mountains on the holidayinfo.cz portal, where they can watch webcams from mountain resorts in addition to the abundance of snow and kilometres of groomed ski slopes. Regularly updated news is also available on one of the largest tourist portals kudyznudy.cz, which is run by the Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism.
„The Czech Mountains are a great choice for a winter holiday with a unique atmosphere. But the winter season has long been about more than just skiing. Increasingly, people are also heading out for wellness, active relaxation or a romantic weekend in the mountains. This year, we have chosen to promote the domestic mountains with the Unexpected Wellbeing campaign on Eurosport to inspire visitors from all over Europe to discover winter in the Czech Republic. During the month of broadcasting, from 3 November to 3. December 2025, the station will air 210 spots on Eurosport 1 and 2, reaching 51 European markets and more than 23 million views,“ says CzechTourism Director František Reismüller, adding: „Detailed information about the Czech mountains, snow news, tips for trips and winter activities can be found on our portal Kudy z nudy, foreign visitors are provided with information through the website VisitCzechia.com. I believe that this winter will bring a lot of great experiences – both on and off the slopes. We have many beautiful places in Czechia where you can really enjoy the winter.“
Who are the skiers in Czechia
AHS conducted two representative surveys: among the general Czech population aged 15 – 70 and among skiers*** aged 15-55. Even without the inclusion of children under 15, it was found that 44% of the Czech population1)2) are skiers from all socio-demographic groups (including household income). While skiers who are actually active even today make up almost 1/3 of the Czech population aged 15-70 (30%) 2).
Czech skiers overwhelmingly learn to ski in the Czech Republic (94%). 82% of skiers want to maintain or increase their level of activity in the coming years 3).
The absolute number of elementary school/junior high school students participating in ski training courses has been increasing slightly over the long term. For example, the number of Grade 7 primary school pupils sent to the SSC was 82,533 in the 2005/2006 school year, while4) it was 109,281 in the 2023-2024 school year. The relative proportion (percentage) of pupils posted has also been fairly stable over the long term, but the situation could be much better. The main reasons cited for non-participation include family financial reasons, child's lack of interest in the course and health reasons4). The analysis suggests some concrete measures that would help to improve the situation. The vast majority (92%) of primary SSCs take place in the Czech Republic4). Courses in foreign countries are mainly conducted as selective - for more advanced students across grades.
The issue of school training courses is worth addressing if only because 86% of skiers and 66% of non-skiers in the country are in favour of today's children/young people learning to ski/snowboard1)2).
Seven reasons why Czech mountain resorts need to work
1. Support employment
In mountain villages up to 25% of the local population is employed in tourism, up to 45,000 people in total in the Czech Republic. 5)
2. Engine of the economy of mountain regions
For every 1 CZK spent in a ski resort, an additional 7 CZK in downstream services in a mountain resort. Mountain tourism in the Czech Republic contributes 13 billion CZK annually to public budgets. 5)
3. Development of mountain infrastructure and maintaining the quality of life of the population
The presence of mountain resorts increases visitation to the region, promotes entrepreneurship, and develops transportation and service infrastructure. Functioning infrastructure then increases the quality of life in mountain areas and can prevent depopulation of these regions.
4. Sport and leisure for all
The centres enable people from all areas of the country to spend time actively in the fresh air, which contributes
to physical and mental health. Skiing is one of the five most popular sports in the
Czech Republic – almost 2.2 million people6) from all sociodemographic groups.2)
5. Promotion of sports for children and youth
Many children gain their first experience of skiing or snowboarding here, and develop their social habits on ski training courses or in outdoor schools. In general, the level of movement activity of the population of the country is deteriorating, especially among children and young people. Lack of exercise in the population has a negative economic impact. 7)
6. Cultural and community life
Mountain resorts and tourism can sustain and develop cultural and community life in a given place. Mountain resorts in the Czech Republic are visited by about 11.9 million visitors annually, of which about 4 million in the winter season. 8)
7. Sustainable development and modernisation
In the last 10 years alone, mountain resorts in the Czech Republic have invested in more sustainable technologies
approximately CZK 1.5 billion.9)
AHS: State should support tourism in the mountains, not complicate it
Tourism is an important tool for the development of mountain regions, often the only one available. It increases the effectiveness of investments in amenities such as sports facilities or cultural monuments, or in the revitalisation of brownfield sites, etc. The biggest challenge for tourism in Czechia is to maintain its competitiveness.
Compared to foreign countries, however, tourism and mountain resorts are a Cinderella for the Czech state „– – it uses the fruits of their work, but does not care about the conditions in which they operate. „In 2014 and 2018, experts from the consulting company KPMG, after a thorough analysis of tourism and its contribution to Czech mountain regions and public budgets, formulated five areas of support. During the following 10 years, AHS has intensively negotiated with the executive and legislative authorities in the Czech Republic on those areas where only the state can act. Today, after more than two terms, it can be said that the result has been minimal,“ says Libor Knot, director of AHS.
The Czech Republic has a newly elected Chamber of Deputies, and a new government is being formed. The Association of Mountain Resorts has recently strengthened its leadership with more experienced personalities and formulated an AHS Programme Statement, in which it declares its active involvement in a wide range of agendas - from the general functioning of the tourism industry (strong anchoring of paths. tourism in institutions, support for destination management, etc.), to permitting processes (nature conservation, construction law), to sectoral topics such as water management, leases of state-managed land, etc.
What can the state and its representatives at all levels do most effectively to simplify life for ski resorts
and mountain regions:
Libor Knot, AHS Director
libor.knot@ahscr.cz
Tel: 603 157 817
Association of Mountain Resorts of the Czech Republic (AHS CR) was established in 2013. The Association brings together not only cable car operators, but also representatives of 20 mountain towns and villages, suppliers of mountain technology and equipment, and other organisations operating in the mountains. Through its activities, it contributes to the maintenance of the basic infrastructure of mountain, often border communities. It focuses on defending the interests of its members in the field of legislation, assists in the promotion of mountain regions and the services provided in them, in improving the exchange of statistical data, information and data on the functioning of mountain regions and their visitor numbers or in gaining experience from abroad. AHS ČR brings together mountain resorts that represent more than two thirds of the Czech market in terms of sales. We want to cooperate with all those who are interested in the development of the Czech mountains.
List of members of the Association of Mountain Resorts of the Czech Republic, z.s.
The number of visitors to the Czech mountains in the summer season 2025 was almost the same as last year, which is a pretty good result considering the rainy July. The dispersion of visitors in the individual resorts was not large compared to last year (max. +/- 15%). The Czechs confirmed the reputation of a „nation of cyclists“, with 50–85% of cyclists being transported on cable cars in the mountain resorts focused on „cyclists“ in the summer.
New cableways, enhanced technical snowmaking and improved visitor comfort
More than 850 mil. CZK will be invested by... Domestic mountain resorts are investing more than CZK 850 million in modrenization and improvements in the 2025/26 winter season. The main areas of investment include increasing the comfort of visitors – two new ropeways (Tanvaldský Špičák and the Karolinka Ski Resort in the Beskydy Mountains), connecting ski slopes, extending and improving the safety of ski slopes, as well as improving other services for visitors (ski school/rental facilities and catering facilities, expanding e-shops, automatic sales and ski passes). As in previous years, a major part of the investments is technical snowmaking – modernisation and increase of the number of end elements for more efficient and faster snowmaking of the ski areas, new water storage tanks for technical snowmaking, landscaping on the slopes for higher efficiency of snow management, which brings water and electricity savings, etc.
Ski pass prices in the 2025-26 season in Czechia remain very similar to last year's prices or increase only slightly*. About one third of resorts maintained last year's prices. Other resorts involved in the survey have increased their prices slightly, but only marginally (by 3-4%). The overall price increase for the whole country is estimated by AHS to be around 2-3%, which is roughly in line with inflation over the last year.
It is increasingly true that most Czech ski resorts use minimum and maximum prices (either as floating prices or differentiated by part of the winter season) and that significant savings (20-30%) can be made when buying online. Early purchase from home saves visitors time and money, and operators can better regulate the number of skiers on the slopes. Thus, resorts are developing their e-shops for ski passes, introducing automatic cash registers with code pickup on mobile phones, family packages are also proliferating, etc.
In the Alps** skiing has become more expensive this year (+ 4%). In a rough comparison, a skier in the Czech Republic pays an average of CZK 750-1000 (EUR 30-40) for a day ski pass, in an average Alpine resort he spends EUR 60 and in a premium resort almost EUR 80.
* The data source is ski pass prices from the published prices for the 2025/26 season so far, where the comparison is with last season, N=25 medium and large ski resorts.
** Data source is ski pass prices from published prices so far for the 2025/26 season, comparing to last season, N=31 medium and large ski resorts from France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.
Traditionally, visitors can find up-to-date information about the Czech mountains on the holidayinfo.cz portal, where they can watch webcams from mountain resorts in addition to the abundance of snow and kilometres of groomed ski slopes. Regularly updated news is also available on one of the largest tourist portals kudyznudy.cz, which is run by the Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism.
„The Czech Mountains are a great choice for a winter holiday with a unique atmosphere. But the winter season has long been about more than just skiing. Increasingly, people are also heading out for wellness, active relaxation or a romantic weekend in the mountains. This year, we have chosen to promote the domestic mountains with the Unexpected Wellbeing campaign on Eurosport to inspire visitors from all over Europe to discover winter in the Czech Republic. During the month of broadcasting, from 3 November to 3. December 2025, the station will air 210 spots on Eurosport 1 and 2, reaching 51 European markets and more than 23 million views,“ says CzechTourism Director František Reismüller, adding: „Detailed information about the Czech mountains, snow news, tips for trips and winter activities can be found on our portal Kudy z nudy, foreign visitors are provided with information through the website VisitCzechia.com. I believe that this winter will bring a lot of great experiences – both on and off the slopes. We have many beautiful places in Czechia where you can really enjoy the winter.“
Who are the skiers in Czechia
AHS conducted two representative surveys: among the general Czech population aged 15 – 70 and among skiers*** aged 15-55. Even without the inclusion of children under 15, it was found that 44% of the Czech population1)2) are skiers from all socio-demographic groups (including household income). While skiers who are actually active even today make up almost 1/3 of the Czech population aged 15-70 (30%) 2).
Czech skiers overwhelmingly learn to ski in the Czech Republic (94%). 82% of skiers want to maintain or increase their level of activity in the coming years 3).
*** Skier = in surveys and in this report, this term includes „people who ride downhill skis and/or snowboards“.
School Training Courses (STCs) are still „going“!The absolute number of elementary school/junior high school students participating in ski training courses has been increasing slightly over the long term. For example, the number of Grade 7 primary school pupils sent to the SSC was 82,533 in the 2005/2006 school year, while4) it was 109,281 in the 2023-2024 school year. The relative proportion (percentage) of pupils posted has also been fairly stable over the long term, but the situation could be much better. The main reasons cited for non-participation include family financial reasons, child's lack of interest in the course and health reasons4). The analysis suggests some concrete measures that would help to improve the situation. The vast majority (92%) of primary SSCs take place in the Czech Republic4). Courses in foreign countries are mainly conducted as selective - for more advanced students across grades.
The issue of school training courses is worth addressing if only because 86% of skiers and 66% of non-skiers in the country are in favour of today's children/young people learning to ski/snowboard1)2).
Seven reasons why Czech mountain resorts need to work
1. Support employment
In mountain villages up to 25% of the local population is employed in tourism, up to 45,000 people in total in the Czech Republic. 5)
2. Engine of the economy of mountain regions
For every 1 CZK spent in a ski resort, an additional 7 CZK in downstream services in a mountain resort. Mountain tourism in the Czech Republic contributes 13 billion CZK annually to public budgets. 5)
3. Development of mountain infrastructure and maintaining the quality of life of the population
The presence of mountain resorts increases visitation to the region, promotes entrepreneurship, and develops transportation and service infrastructure. Functioning infrastructure then increases the quality of life in mountain areas and can prevent depopulation of these regions.
4. Sport and leisure for all
The centres enable people from all areas of the country to spend time actively in the fresh air, which contributes
to physical and mental health. Skiing is one of the five most popular sports in the
Czech Republic – almost 2.2 million people6) from all sociodemographic groups.2)
5. Promotion of sports for children and youth
Many children gain their first experience of skiing or snowboarding here, and develop their social habits on ski training courses or in outdoor schools. In general, the level of movement activity of the population of the country is deteriorating, especially among children and young people. Lack of exercise in the population has a negative economic impact. 7)
6. Cultural and community life
Mountain resorts and tourism can sustain and develop cultural and community life in a given place. Mountain resorts in the Czech Republic are visited by about 11.9 million visitors annually, of which about 4 million in the winter season. 8)
7. Sustainable development and modernisation
In the last 10 years alone, mountain resorts in the Czech Republic have invested in more sustainable technologies
approximately CZK 1.5 billion.9)
AHS: State should support tourism in the mountains, not complicate it
Tourism is an important tool for the development of mountain regions, often the only one available. It increases the effectiveness of investments in amenities such as sports facilities or cultural monuments, or in the revitalisation of brownfield sites, etc. The biggest challenge for tourism in Czechia is to maintain its competitiveness.
Compared to foreign countries, however, tourism and mountain resorts are a Cinderella for the Czech state „– – it uses the fruits of their work, but does not care about the conditions in which they operate. „In 2014 and 2018, experts from the consulting company KPMG, after a thorough analysis of tourism and its contribution to Czech mountain regions and public budgets, formulated five areas of support. During the following 10 years, AHS has intensively negotiated with the executive and legislative authorities in the Czech Republic on those areas where only the state can act. Today, after more than two terms, it can be said that the result has been minimal,“ says Libor Knot, director of AHS.
The Czech Republic has a newly elected Chamber of Deputies, and a new government is being formed. The Association of Mountain Resorts has recently strengthened its leadership with more experienced personalities and formulated an AHS Programme Statement, in which it declares its active involvement in a wide range of agendas - from the general functioning of the tourism industry (strong anchoring of paths. tourism in institutions, support for destination management, etc.), to permitting processes (nature conservation, construction law), to sectoral topics such as water management, leases of state-managed land, etc.
What can the state and its representatives at all levels do most effectively to simplify life for ski resorts
and mountain regions:
- Permitting processes for infrastructure constructions, e.g. linear constructions, or typically storage tanks – these are commonly used abroad, but in Czechia the approval of their construction is slowed down, or stopped completely.
- Lease of land with state management rights (the state somewhere blocks construction to improve the quality of services with absurdly short lease periods).
- Conditions to do business: the 2023 consolidation package raised taxes and sales tax; made it more difficult to employ on FTE/PPP agreements, a key form for seasonal operations.
- Rational communication: not using outdated or ideologically tinged arguments, but sticking to facts and the latest science-based information.
1) Skiers = people who are/were actively engaged in downhill skiing/snowboarding at least once every 3 years
2) AHS Survey, 04/2025. The data collection was carried out by means of a web-based questionnaire (CAWI) of STEM/MARK agency on: a) a representative sample of the Czech population N = 3008, 15-70 years old; b) a representative sample of N = 1009 respondents who are/were actively engaged in downhill skiing/snowboarding (at an interval of at least once every 3 years); c) a representative sample of N = 610 respondents who are not actively engaged in downhill skiing/snowboarding as defined in point b).
3) AHS survey, 06/2024. Data collection was carried out through a web-based questionnaire (CAWI) by STEM/MARK on a sample of N=1009 persons aged 15-55 years who practice/snowboard downhill skiing/snowboarding.
4) Analysis of trends and setting conditions for children's skiing in the Czech Republic with a focus on school ski training courses, KROKEM, s.r.o., 10/2025
5)Study Mountain resorts in the Czech Republic: identification of benefits for regional development and public budgets, KMPG 2014, 2018
6) International Report on Mountain Tourism 2023
7) Movement Activities Economic Impact Study – Deloitte/NSA 2025.
8)Analysis of Visitation to Mountain Resorts in the Czech Republic 2014/2015, KPMG 2015
9)Data from AHS statistics
Libor Knot, AHS Director
libor.knot@ahscr.cz
Tel: 603 157 817
Association of Mountain Resorts of the Czech Republic (AHS CR) was established in 2013. The Association brings together not only cable car operators, but also representatives of 20 mountain towns and villages, suppliers of mountain technology and equipment, and other organisations operating in the mountains. Through its activities, it contributes to the maintenance of the basic infrastructure of mountain, often border communities. It focuses on defending the interests of its members in the field of legislation, assists in the promotion of mountain regions and the services provided in them, in improving the exchange of statistical data, information and data on the functioning of mountain regions and their visitor numbers or in gaining experience from abroad. AHS ČR brings together mountain resorts that represent more than two thirds of the Czech market in terms of sales. We want to cooperate with all those who are interested in the development of the Czech mountains.
List of members of the Association of Mountain Resorts of the Czech Republic, z.s.