Austria keen to bring winter wonders to China

Elisabeth Köstinger simply enjoyed Beijing's early April spring sunshine, as it is still winter sports and ski season in her country of Austria.

Led by the country's president and chancellor, the Austrian Minister of Sustainability and Tourism is part of a historic delegation to China, generating cooperation in the areas she oversees, especially winter vacations.

Boasting 254 ski areas with more than 2,900 lifts and 1.14 million hotel beds, Austria, with an area of no more than 85,000 square kilometers and high mountains, is the largest winter vacation market and most international winter destination in Europe.

"We have a large area of connected ski areas with luxury resorts and five-star hotels. We meet everyone's needs, for example, family slopes. Families can stay with a very low budget."

The country features one of the world's top 10 skiing resorts, St. Anton/Arlberg, with 305 kilometers of slopes and a ski season that lasts as long as late April.

In January, the Hahnenkamm race, the world's most dangerous and prestigious downhill race and a World Cup speed event, takes place in Kitzbuhel in Tirol province of Western Austria. Skiers start from an altitude as high as nearly 2,000 meters and speed down the 3.3 km course to 600 meters in altitude within two minutes.

Beginning with the 2017-2018 season, ski passes for three or more days between the Sölden and Obergurgl-Hochgurgl ski resorts are valid for 254 kilometers of slopes and 55 lifts. An adult six-day pass sells for 285 euros ($350) in the peak period and 257 euros in the low season.

Chinese winter tourists contributed 290,625 of the total 13.2 million international arrivals in Austria during the 2016-2017 season, a 33.2 percent annual increase. Direct flights to Vienna take off from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Contact the writer at guanxm@chinadaily.com.cn