St. Anton am Arlberg is a municipality with around 2372 inhabitants in the district of Landeck in the state of Tyrol (Austria). It lies at the foot of the Arlberg on the border with Vorarlberg. St. Anton, once an important passport, is the largest contiguous ski area in Austria and the fifth largest in the world thanks to the Ski Arlberg ski area. St. Anton am Arlberg is also one of the most famous winter sports resorts and is the cradle of alpine skiing.
As the largest lift operator in the tariff association with 31 cable cars and lifts – with a total hourly transport capacity of 58,405 people, the Arlberg mountain railways open up the Ski Arlberg ski area.
With around 10,000 guest beds in hotels and accommodation establishments, around one million overnight stays are achieved per winter season. The summer season was important until the 1970s due to the title of high altitude health resort, but it declined considerably with the beginning of the ever more efficient long-distance travel tourism. Since the beginning of the 90s, St. Anton has been back in the trend of summer tourism. Sports such as mountain biking or Nordic walking attract more and more sports-loving holidaymakers to the Arlberg when there is little snow. Hotels, restaurants and the mountain railways have adapted to this and are now offering special active packages for summer guests.
An outdoor pool with a wellness center has existed since 2002 to attract tourists even in the summer months. In 2008 the old tennis hall was also renewed, which now contains a bowling / skittles alley, a multi-purpose hall (tennis, volleyball, soccer) as well as a squash court and an air rifle shooting range. The heart of the new hall is the climbing area.
Nevertheless, ski tourism remains the town’s main source of income.
The tourist infrastructure in summer includes:
- 96 km of marked hiking trails
- two via ferratas
- a winter via ferrata
- an indoor pool with an outdoor area (in addition to numerous hotel indoor pools)
- Hiking trails
- Mountain bike routes
- Fishing opportunities
- Summer in St. Anton am Arlberg
The tourist infrastructure in the Ski Arlberg network includes:
- 88 lifts and cable cars
- 305 km of groomed slopes with the following levels of difficulty: 131 km easy,123 km medium, 51 km difficult
- 200 km of natural but secured deep snow routes
- 10 ski touring routes
- an indoor pool with outdoor area (in addition to numerous hotel indoor pools) and fitness center
- a multifunctional sports center
- an illuminated, 4.3 km long toboggan run with a height difference of over 500 m.
St. Anton is known for its discos, pubs and bars on the village street and on the slopes along the valley runs.