Austrian Suppliers are Champions in the Winter Sports Industry. It was quite an honor for Austria to have been chosen as the partner country for the “2024 World Ice and Snow Economy of Cold Regions Conference” which took place at Jilin’s Beidahu Ski Resort on December 19 and 20, 2024.
The conference gathered over 300 industry and official representatives to discuss the sector's latest trends.
At a special “Chinese-Jilin-Austria Exchange conference” eight Austrian companies presented their products and solutions: Sanhe Doppelmayr (ropeways), Axess (ticketing systems and access control gates), Wintersteiger (skis and snowboard tuning), Head (sporting gear and equipment), Sunkid (outdoor attractions), Zumtobel (lighting solutions for indoors and outdoors), Prinoth (snow grooming tech) and Radskier (ski training).
Austria is a world leading winter sports destination. The Alps cover nearly two-thirds of of the country’s surface. 2,900 ropeway installations and 7,500 kilometers of ski slopes turn Austria into one of the most-sought skiing destinations. Winter sports tourism is an important source of income for Austria, directly and indirectly it stands for 6 percent of our overall GDP. Austria is home to many winter sports pioneers. Did you know for instance that the two world market leaders in ropeways are located in Austria? Every other ski sold worldwide carries Austrian DNA.
The success of the Austrian tourism sector is also due that some of the world’s best infrastructure and tech providers for the sector call Austria their home. More about #wintersportsaustria in our Fresh View Magazine.
The 2nd World Ice and Snow Economy of Cold Regions Conference was hosted by the People’s Government of Jilin Province and aimed also to leverage Jilin’s unique natural resources and advantages in the ice and snow economy. 60 percent of Jilin’s geography is covered by mountains. The 23 Mio. people province has been developing the winters sports sector since 2016 and has so far built 54 skiing resorts. The industry has trusted Austrian suppliers in providing them with infrastructure like for ropeways and access control systems. ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Beijing hosted in 2018 and in 2023 its signature “Austrian Winter Sports Conference” in the province.
Besides wintersports and tourism, Jilin and Austria are also interested to intensify their cooperation in the fields of advanced manufacturing.
