Weather Sends Pools on a Roller Coaster Ride

The outdoor pool season is mixed in this changeable summer. The term roller coaster ride is used multiple times. Nevertheless, the pool operators have not yet given up on the season. In many places, the hot June ensured very full lawns, creating a buffer for the changeable and swimming weather-sparing July, as an Austria-wide APA survey shows.

The Tyrolean outdoor pool season is running "like a roller coaster" this year, said Michael Kirchmair, spokesperson for the Tyrolean pools in the Chamber of Commerce. Since the start of the holidays, however, they have been in a "downhill ride". In the very successful June this year, the pools only "lived" from the weekends, but in July the whole week is important. However, the weather is currently "modest": "The nights are cool, the water temperatures are low, and the lawns are wet in the morning," Kirchmair described the situation. Even if August should still be good, the month of July is "lost". From mid-August, it often already feels like autumn. From an economic point of view, this is "very difficult", as there is ultimately no outdoor pool that ends up with a positive balance. Nevertheless, the outdoor pools are "prepared every day", as changeable weather is also "customary" here.

"June great, July bad"

In the largest outdoor pool in Vorarlberg, the Rheinauen Recreation Center, they do not want to speak of a bad season so far. July was mixed, but you could actually say that about one of the three operating months every year, explained Managing Director Ewald Petritsch upon request from the APA. After the completely rainy June 2024, the Rheinauen counted 32,000 bathers by July 20, this year it was 66,500 by the same date, more than twice as many. Annually, about 110,000 people swim in the Rheinauen. "If August is normal, it will be a normal summer," said Petritsch.

"June great, July bad" - this is how Alexander Fritz, operations manager of the new lakeside pool in Bregenz, sums up the bathing season so far. But: "The balance is drawn at the end." Because the lakeside pool also includes an indoor pool, bad weather is not so dramatic for the operation.

Outdoor Pools in the City of Salzburg with Pluses and Minuses

In the three outdoor pools of the city of Salzburg, the mixed weather in July unsurprisingly led to a decline in the number of visitors. In the first three weeks of the month, about a third fewer bathers were recorded compared to the same period last year. However, the deficit is more than offset by the very good start to the season this year. Since the three pools opened their pools between April 22 and May 9, almost 110,000 swimmers and splashers visited by July 21. This is 13,500 more people compared to last year, but also about 8,000 fewer than in 2023.

The weather also played a role in Northern Burgenland. Rene Lentsch, managing director of the Podersdorf beach and Podoplay, was very satisfied with the visitor numbers, "thanks to new offers". In July, there was slightly less going on in Podersdorf than last year. In Andau, slightly fewer guests came due to the weather, in Gols it was the same number as last year, it was said. In Eisenstadt, a decline was recorded in the outdoor pool due to the mixed summer weather. From the start of the season on June 1 to July 23, 16,167 bathers visited the pool in the state capital, last year it was 20,278 in this period - about a fifth more.

In Pinkafeld, they speak of a "normal" season. Conveniently, in bad weather, guests can visit the indoor pool here, which is also open in summer. The municipality of Königsdorf (district of Jennersdorf) is pleased with "enormously" numerous season ticket sales for the local natural swimming lake. June was "wonderful", July somewhat mixed, it was said upon APA request. In Middle Burgenland, large weather-related fluctuations in daily admissions were recorded. On sunny days, there was at least a good frequency. The sale of season tickets at the start of the season was also "very satisfactory" in many municipalities, according to the Middle Burgenland-Rosalia Tourism Association.

"It's Not So Bad After All"

In the Linz outdoor pools, the season started slowly due to the cool May, but then picked up speed, according to Linz AG. In May, they counted 49,557 bathers, even more than in 2023, when there were just under 47,300. In the summery June, around 114,000 guests visited the four facilities of the state capital - Parkbad, Hummelhofbad, Schörgenhub, and Biesenfeldbad - while in the two previous years, there were only around 95,300. However, there are no figures yet for the rather changeable July, it was said upon request.

"It's not so bad after all," they reassure at the Weyregg beach on Lake Attersee. In July, the number of visitors was slightly lower, but it started early this year due to the heatwave in June, and the lake warmed up quickly. Currently, however, it is cooling down again, which is why they hope for a quick return of stable summer weather. A look at the weather forecasts for Upper Austria, however, gives little reason for optimism.

City Pools in Vienna Surpassed the Million Mark Despite Decline

In Vienna, the outdoor pools were also in full swing, especially in June. After that, real swimming weather was often scarce. Currently, according to the office of the responsible city councilor Jürgen Czernohorszky (SPÖ), there is a slight decline in visitor numbers compared to the previous year. About 60,000 fewer people have come to the city pools so far, a decrease of about five percent. However, the million mark in terms of bathers has already been surpassed with 1.16 million. The pools, emphasized the city councilor, are important heat protection partners. "This July is somewhat cooler compared to previous years here, but climate change remains a bitter reality if we look at Southern Italy, where the thermometer almost hits the 50-degree mark," he added.

In Lower Austria, they remain quite calm in view of the weather caprices: It currently looks like an average season in terms of visitor numbers, said Harald Gölles, spokesman for the pool operations in the Chamber of Commerce of Lower Austria.

A Look to the South of the Country

In the south of Austria - in Styria and Carinthia - they are quite satisfied. So far, 330,000 people have visited the three Wörthersee pools of the Klagenfurt public utilities this year, it was said upon request. They are on a very good path and have already counted more than half as many entries as in the entire year 2024. The rush was particularly strong in the particularly hot June this year. The strongest bathing day so far was July 11.

Also, in the Graz outdoor pools, they were doing very well in the last week of July due to the largely bathing-friendly weather so far. "According to a conservative estimate, we will have had a total of around 264,500 visitors by July 31," said a spokeswoman for Holding Graz, to which most of Graz's indoor and outdoor pools belong. This means they are overall around eleven percent above the long-term average, thanks to the excellent June and despite the weather-related modest July (minus 14 percent compared to the long-term average). Additionally, they are only just under three percent below the visitor record of 2024, the best year so far. The Graz pools include the Auster with the outdoor pool, the Stukitzbad, the Straßgang outdoor pool, and the Margaretenbad. The Bad zur Sonne is closed from mid-May to the end of September due to renovation.

(APA/Red)

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