Winter nature-based outdoor activities like ski touring, snowshoeing, and winter hiking are steadily growing in importance. Mountain destinations offer a wide range of recreational opportunities while at the same time fostering appreciation for nature and enhancing avalanche hazard awareness. Managing avalanche risks and ensuring visitors’ safety require understanding both: avalanche hazards and visitor behavior to implement effective risk management strategies.

Therefore, our study aims to investigate determinants of avalanche risk and support preparedness planning, based on systematic long-term visitor and avalanche hazard monitoring in the Tatra National Park, Poland. Our work is based upon empirical data collected between 2018-2024: daily visitor counts, avalanche accidents records, meteorological data and avalanche danger level. The results show visitation patterns and avalanche accidents determinants. To conclude, systematic long-term monitoring of avalanche risk determinants is necessary to develop successful risk management strategies in winter nature-based tourism and need to be integrated within a broader sustainable mountain tourism development .