Ski resorts of Turkey and prominent winter tourism infrastructure players from Austria came together to weigh in on cooperation and look for ways to unearth the country’s potential, as well as to enable it to make the most of the period outside winter.

The Turkey-Austria Winter and Mountain Tourism Infrastructure Summit, held from Friday through the weekend, addressed sustainability, cooperation, projects and investment.

The event came as the hard-hit tourism and ski industry tries to cope with major challenges, namely the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.

Efforts over the recent years have sought to help Turkey to gain popularity as not only a summer holiday spot renowned for its summer resorts, beaches, the sea and ancient ruins, but also as a winter tourism destination known for its mountains among ski-lovers.

Investments in ski resorts, accommodation facilities and slopes seem to have been paying off, as the number of those taking long trips to reach Turkey’s largest winter sports centers has been on the rise. The country has also been after investments and campaigns to develop mountain areas as summer tourism centers.

Held at Mount Erciyes, one of Turkey’s most popular ski resorts in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri, the second edition of the summit took place in cooperation between Austria’s commercial office, Advantage Austria, led by Trade Commissioner Georg Karabaczek, and Erciyes A.Ş.

The event brought together 12 Austrian companies with representatives of the Turkish winter tourism industry and authorities to exchange ideas and discuss concrete projects.

With a 150-year-long history in ski tourism, Austria is one of the world’s biggest players in the industry. Ski tourism constitutes around 7.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), Johannes Wimmer, Austria’s ambassador to Ankara, said.

"This is a big proportion. The foreign currency left by the guests is 47 billion euros ($52 billion). Austria is one of the most favorite stops in ski tourism. Most of the mountains in Austria are accessible to skiing," Wimmer told the event.

New cooperation, investments

Prominent players in their areas, from artificial snow and cable car systems to imaging systems and turnstiles, Austrian manufacturers held bilateral meetings with operators and executives at Erciyes.

The summit aimed to enable players such as Axess, Demaclenko, Denizbank AG, Doppelmayr Garaventa Group, Gravity Cart, Input Projektentwicklungs, Leitner, MND Austria, Panomax, Sunkid, Skidata and Technoalpin to arrange new partnerships and make new investments by cooperating with companies in Turkey.

Wimmer stressed the importance of cooperation as he praised the potential of Turkey.

He noted the world was dealing with crises such as war, climate change, which he said had created a fragile structure, noting that these problems could be solved through cooperation.

'Wasting it'

Murat Cahid Cıngı, the chairperson of Erciyes A.Ş., said Austria is the "heart of winter and ski tourism."

"Turkey is also a heavenly country. But we are wasting it by being content with just summer tourism," Cıngı told the summit, which he believes will contribute to Turkey’s ski tourism.

In addition to Erciyes, Uludağ in northwestern Bursa province, where the first edition of the summit took place two years ago before the pandemic-enforced pause, Palandöken in the eastern province of Erzurum and Kartalkaya in northwestern Bolu province are some of the best-known destinations for ski enthusiasts.

Cıngı noted the importance of the mountains, stressing that they are prioritizing Turkey’s winter tourism on all platforms they participate in.

"Our point of view is not only Erciyes or our region. It troubles us that we waste these resources and mountains when it comes to winter tourism. Looking at how much resources and income it generates in the world, especially in Europe, it makes us sad that the mountains of our country are wasted," he said.

"There are magnificent mountains in our country from the easternmost to the westernmost, from the north to the south. Unfortunately, we are not taking advantage of these," he added.

He said Erciyes has turned into an international ski resort within the framework of a master plan, launched back in 2005, stressing that they were working intensively with European and especially Austrian consultants and representatives.

Climate change

Some ski resorts in Austria have already been conducting risk assessments due to climate change, said Robert Steiger, who researches the impact of climate change on winter sports and tourism at the department of public finance at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.

"It’s not just winter tourism anymore. Investments are being made in such a way that the mountains can also be used actively in the summer," Steiger noted, stressing investments such as theme parks, children’s pools and mountain hiking routes.

Noting that people who do not ski also constitute a great potential, he stressed that it is necessary to look for a way to bring these people to the mountains in the summer, a drive that could enable facilities to make money outside winter.

The natural and cultural resources should be made attractive to increase the tourist experience, said Süleyman Toy, a professor of urban and regional planning at Atatürk University, noting that climate change greatly affects this situation.

Comparing climate change to a strong storm, Toy stated that only a solid tourism structure would be disaster-proof.