VIENNA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Austrian ski-manufacturing industry is seeing large potential for growth in the Chinese market ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
In a report from the Krone in its online edition on Monday, it was noted that the domestic ski-manufacturing industry has seen a major boom in interest from Chinese investors.
This has been seen across major manufacturers such as Fischer, Atomic, Blizzard, and Head, said spokesperson for the Austrian ski industry and Fischer Sports CEO Franz Foettinger.
He said the investors seek to bring Austrian know-how in the industry to China, where about 300 million people are anticipated to actively take up the winter sport by 2022, up from only about five million at present.
While he himself turned down a China-based offer to buy his company, he said he can still see business opportunities in the country, where many skis are currently imported from Japan.
In addition Foettinger noted a need for Austrian ski instructors at the many new ski resorts in China.
Oliver Suter of Salzburg-based company Axess said Austrian companies could also be involved in the construction of such resorts. His company has received three large contracts for its chip card and access systems for ski pistes, and the ski industry has reported further demand for lifts and snow cannons.
