No Chinese winter sports miracle for Switzerland
Switzerland cannot expect a Chinese ski tourist miracle in the short term. This is what Chinese winter sports expert Benny Wu says in an interview with Handelszeitung.
Although there are already around eight million skiers in China, 80 percent of them are beginners. "Only when we can turn these beginners into advanced skiers in China will the passion grow. And with it, the desire to ski abroad." Benny Wu is head of ski resort strategy at Chinese real estate group Vanke Group and author of the "China Ski Industry White Book."
When Chinese winter sports enthusiasts travel abroad, closer destinations such as Japan come into question at the beginning, says Wu: "The country is much closer than Europe and the culture is more familiar to the Chinese than the European one." For further travel, Austria holds good cards, he says: "One of our resorts has a collaboration with Kitzbühel." Another advantage: "Austrian winter sports brands are also very present in China and help us boost the snow sports movement." The best-known Swiss winter destination in China is Davos, Wu says, "also because of the World Economic Forum." (Handelszeitung)
