Arrivals rise

According to Switzerland Tourism, Chinese tourists spent 200,974 overnight stays at mountain destinations in the winter of 2018-19, a rise of nearly 539 percent compared with the same period a decade earlier.

A similar trend has been witnessed in the neighboring Alpine nation of Austria. In the winter of 2009-10, the country saw just 55,000 Chinese arrivals, but the number rose to 345,000 two years ago.

Lehner-Telic said: "The number of Chinese winter guests has grown consistently for the past 10 years. Although they do not represent the largest group of international arrivals in Austria, they have been the fastest-growing by far."

China's outbound tourism has risen to top spot globally, with more than 169 million overseas trips made in 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. As a result, European ski resort operators are looking to the country as a new source of market growth.

The Swiss ski resort of Laax is one destination to benefit from investment in the Chinese market. It has adopted a strategy of locating, engaging and convincing key opinion leaders and influencers to experience the resort firsthand, in the hope that their reports will attract Chinese travelers and winter sports enthusiasts.

A spokesman for the resort, who declined to be named, said, "Last winter, we were on track for a record year, with the highest number of overnight stays from Greater China.

"Our guests from China (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) are often experienced and have a good technical level on the snow. They are also well-traveled and looking for the quality and convenience that we offer."

Renowned for its freestyle skiing and snowboarding, Laax hosts several important international snowboarding contests every year.

The spokesman said, "Technically, the top Chinese athletes are performing at a very, very high level and this is clearly evident in recent results at events such as the Laax Open."

Chinese athletes' improved winter sports performances in recent years have inspired many skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts to try slopes overseas.