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« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » Innsbruck: Selling A Safari In A City That Sells ItselfBy Pete Taylor 
All this combined makes for a unique destination that effortlessly blends a working city dripping with history, heritage, and winter sports. "Innsbruck is probably the only place where skiers and snowboarders will walk side by side with business people in the morning and neither will receive a strange look," International Marketing Manager Nicholas Boekdrukker from Innsbruck Tourism told The Industry Report. Boekdrukker said the brand new Innsbruck Ski Safari launching this winter is designed to take full advantage of all of the region's attributes with the added value of total flexibility. It takes precise aim at the American and British ski markets by making the city's lures so accessible, a ski trip here might just be irresistible, particularly for families and couples who want to combine skiing, snowboarding, history, and culture. The basis of the program is simple. Ski holidays are maximized because your accommodation is in one hotel of your choice right in the city, arriving any day of the week, and staying as long as you wish. No more Saturday-to-Saturday inflexibility. Guests may book a la carte, or packaged with skiing and half-board. Free ski shuttle buses will pick you up from the majority of hotels around the city before dropping you at a central hub where you transfer to a resort bus. Hop on and off the ski shuttles with a valid ski pass or Club Innsbruck Card (free with accommodation). The option of car hire is, of course, available, too, but why bother? Shuttles to the nine ski areas within the Innsbruck Olympia SkiWorld run from Dec. 12, 2009 to April 4, 2010 and take you to and from Nordpark (Seegrube-Hafelekar), Patscherkofel, Axamer Lizum, Kuehtai, Muttereralm, Rangger Kopfl, Glungezer, Schlick 2000, and Stubai Glacier. There are a total of 18 Austrian resorts within an hour's drive of the city; including one in Germany and Switzerland, and two in Italy. Millions of skiers have the astounding gold medal run of Franz Klammer on Patscherkofel at the 1976 Winter Olympics etched in their psyche. Too young to remember? Get the video. Klammer went from dead last in the first heat and had to beat his personal best on the hill by two seconds to surpass defending champ Bernhard Russi of Switzerland for gold. Many consider it among the defining sports moments of all time. Look north from the city to see the immense wall of rock that is the Nordkette mountain range, the closest skiing to town. Getting on to the Nordpark slopes couldn't be easier. The Innsbruck Nordketten Bahnen (funicular railway) departs from the center of town. The award-winning station is flanked by the congress centre and the opera house. It's just 20 minutes from city centre to piste. The Nordpark ski area, reaching a height of 2260 metres, is comprised of mostly red runs (intermediate) with a few blacks (expert). That said, expert skiers will find one of the steepest ski runs in Europe with a gradient of 70 percent. The Seegrube Snow Park (Nitro Pro Skyline Park) has a 120-metre-long superpipe and a slopestyle course, both with spectacular views of the city below. Kuehtai offers 40 kilometers of piste up to 2500 meters and one floodlit night run. Axamer Lizum, one of the closest to the city and a two-time Olympic venue, has 41 kilometers of piste and a maximum height of 2340 meters. The Stubai Glacier offers year-round skiing and snowboarding. But, the Ski Safari opens guests up to skiing plus so much more. Innsbruck, population 130,000, sits in a basin surrounded by towering mountains. It has been to a greater or lesser extent, at the centre of European and political life since 1490, when Maximilian I based his Imperial court here. The Altstadt (old town) is charming, grand, pedestrian-friendly, and home to most of the attractions. It offers a wealth of historic and cultural sites for a city of modest size, including churches, museums, and galleries that seem to be around every corner. Must-sees for visitors on Ski Safari include the Golden Roof built for Maximilian I; the 15th century-old Hofburg (Imperial Palace), and Ambras Castle, housing Europe's oldest museum. The city is linked by a comprehensive tram and bus network and a 24-hour ticket costs €3.40 (US $4.83) The Sightseer Bus is free with the Innsbruck Card. There is indeed an option for international business travelers to tie into the Ski Safari in addition to taking care of commerce at the Congress and Trade Fare Centre, which is the largest in the Austrian Tyrol. It couldn't be better placed to exploit the charm of the old town. The Tyrolean State Theatre, across the street, stages weekly opera, dance, and drama. Innsbruck's bustling bars and cafes are all within easy walking distance as are the hotels, guesthouses, and inns. Tourists and business travelers will find the range of accommodation one would expect in a thriving city, from quaint two- and three-star boutique hotels up to the five-star Grand Hotel Europa, dating to 1883. The center of the village is an open-air shopping center, where most certainly, you won't forget the gift of Swarovski crystal for those at home. The Europa, opposite the train station, is an eclectic mix of traditional Tyrolean charm and contemporary chic. It's welcomed VIPs and dignitaries from Lenny Kravitz to Queen Elizabeth II over the years. Rumors still abound regarding an alleged liaison between Queen Elizabeth and the King of Sweden. The Europa Stuberl restaurant is a celebration of Tyrolean charm with floor-to-ceiling pine paneling and four-course gourmet meals accompanied by Tyrolean wines. The Innsbruck Tourist Board offers various entertainment packages, particularly well suited to business guests, such as the Dinner & Casino evening priced at €57 (US $81) and includes a four-course meal at a restaurant of your choosing (including Europa), a glass of sparkling wine at the Casino Innsbruck, and €25 (US $36) worth of gambling chips. The Casino Innsbruck, housed in the Hilton hotel, is by no means Ceasar's Palace, but is nevertheless an entertaining place to spend an evening. Boekdrukker says a key Innsbruck selling point, especially in the current economic climate, is the cost. Many airlines including Continental, Lufthansa, United, and KLM fly from the U.S to Innsbruck and the nearby airport of Munich, Germany at prices comparable with U.S internal flights. That means it's can sometimes be comparable or cheaper to take a ski holiday in the Tyrol than the Rockies. Innsbruck Airport is a 10-minute taxi journey from the city center and Munich Airport, a two-hour drive. Lift passes run from €20-35 (US $28-50). The Innsbruck Glacier Pass, good at any Olympia SkiWorld Innsbruck area for six days, goes from €114 (US $162). The Innsbruck Super Ski Pass is sold from €168 (US $239) for six days and is good at the nine Innsbruck area resorts, plus Kitzbuehel and St. Anton, both an hour away. All passes can be booked online or at a guest's hotel. Further example: A slopeside beer in Innsbruck is a third of the price; and lunch half of the cost as it is at Chamonix in France. What It Means: Few - if any - cities in the alpine world can set the bait better than Innsbruck. Travel costs, so much to see and do of a historical and cultural nature, and free, easy access to top ski resorts, several of which have been Winter Olympic venues, do the trick. Innsbruck's new Ski Safari, with its total flexibility, will likely become a formidable competitive lure for Americans and Brits. « Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » |
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