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Austria to crack down on ski tourists evading lockdown

Austria will tighten checks to deter foreign skiers from using loopholes in the country's coronavirus lockdown to travel to the country's ski resorts.

Austria to crack down on ski tourists evading lockdown
Photo: GEORG HOCHMUTH / APA / AFP

“We will intensify controls” in Alpine ski resorts and at the border, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told a press conference.

Though a lockdown has kept hotels, restaurants, bars, schools and all non-essential businesses closed for weeks, Austria's government allowed ski lifts to re-open just before Christmas, maintaining that outdoor sports posed little transmission risk.

But while the measure was intended for locals only, there have also been reports of hundreds of foreigners being lured to the pistes and several virus outbreaks have been reported at resorts.

Authorities in St. Anton in the western Tyrol region last week complained about two hundred foreigners from the UK, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Ireland and Sweden who had mostly arrived by train from Zurich.

Local officials said the visitors had registered for residency, claiming they were looking for employment in the closed-down tourism industry.

More than 44 addresses in the area were raided on Friday and Nehammer said “it was possible to file more than 100 charges and to set an example”.

The majority now face fines of up to 2,180 euros ($2,620), a spokesman for Tyrol's provincial government told AFP, adding that the exact amount would be determined on a case-by-case basis but that none of them could be deported or arrested.

Still, the raids prompted about 30 foreigners to give notification that they were leaving and depart St Anton over the past few days, Helmut Mall, the mayor, told AFP on Tuesday.

Mall said he hoped “this was a clear message that nobody should come — we're still under lockdown,” he said.

EXPLAINED: How Austria's coronavirus restrictions are about to change 

“Now some calm will return,” to St. Anton, which usually hosts about 12,000 skiers per week in the winter, Mall said.

A single skier from Germany was placed under quarantine on Friday in St. Anton, as she could not produce pre-travel clearance documents required to cross the Austrian border, Helmut Pintarelli, a police inspector in St. Anton, told AFP Tuesday.

Pintarelli denied previous media reports that 96 foreigners were placed under quarantine and that they had been charged for partying in the small village.

Interior Minister Nehammer on Tuesday also announced tougher border measures, including a requirement for cross-border commuters to register with authorities and get tested on a weekly basis.

Though Austria will ease restrictions starting Monday, with stores and schools allowed to reopen, hotels, cafes and restaurants will stay closed.

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TRAIN TRAVEL

New sleeper train for skiers set to connect Austrian Alps with the UK

New plans for an overnight train service would connect the UK via Eurostar to Belgium to Venice via Innsbruck during the winter ski season in the Alps. Here's what we know so far about the planned new service.

New sleeper train for skiers set to connect Austrian Alps with the UK

The Austrian Alps are certainly a major destination for skiers and winter sports enthusiasts.

While the Innsbruck region is easily accessible by car, train, or flight, a new sleeper train is also in the works, connecting London to the Tyrolean capital before heading on to Venice. 

European Sleeper, a private international night train operator, is developing plans to launch a new overnight train service connecting Brussels to Venice via Innsbruck. This service is specifically aimed at British skiers, offering them a convenient and sustainable way to reach ski resorts in the Austrian and Italian Alps.

The proposed “Good Night Train” would offer a sustainable and convenient alternative to air travel, allowing passengers to travel overnight in sleeper compartments and arrive refreshed at their Alpine destination. Skiers from the UK would be able to access the service via Eurostar and a dedicated coach service connecting them to Brussels, from where they will jump on the Alps-bound train.

READ ALSO: Five European cities you can reach from Austria in less than five hours by train

How will the service run? 

The train is expected to start running from February to Easter holidays in 2025, according to statements given by Elmer van Buuren, co-founder of European Sleeper to Travel Weekly. Departures would take place on Wednesdays and returns from Venice on Sundays, making the journey perfect for long weekend ski trips. The company is also considering increasing the frequency of the service based on demand.

While ticket prices have yet to be decided, van Buuren said they’ll be more affordable than peak season flights to Alpine airports. The trains will accommodate 750 passengers, with the journey to Innsbruck estimated at 15 hours and to Venice at 20 hours.

European Sleeper, which already operates successful overnight routes between Brussels, Berlin, Dresden, and Prague, envisions this new service as just the beginning of a broader expansion plan, with potential routes to the south of France and Barcelona on the horizon.

The company aims to capitalise on the growing trend of “slow travel,” offering a more relaxed and environmentally friendly alternative to air and car travel. 

READ ALSO: The seaside destinations you can reach without a car or plane from Austria

Van Buuren also sees potential for future sleeper train services from London using the Channel Tunnel, although various logistical and regulatory challenges would need to be addressed.

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