• croatiantimes.com
• romaniantimes.at
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at
• austrianindependent.com

Today

• Vienna - Johnny\'s Pub Quiz
• Vienna - Unknown Underground
• Vienna- January and February at the Austrian Film Museum
• Vienna - Art by Petronilla Hohenwarter.
• STOMP at the MuseumsQuartier

© ÖAMTC

20. 10. 09. - 15:00

• more General News news
• RSS Feed General News

20. 10. 09. - 15:00

Lift money should pay for rescues, say insurers

By David Rogers

Insurance bosses have said money from mountain lift tickets should be used to cover rescues.

Michael Sturmlechner from Austrian insurance company Allianz said today (Tues) that one Euro of the cost of each lift ticket be used to pay for mountain rescues by helicopter.

The firm claimed the money collected would bridge the gap between the maximum of 890 Euros that social-insurance funds paid per rescue in only 18 per cent of the 6,000 annual cases in Austria and the thousands of Euros that each rescue actually costs.

Sturmlechner said its proposed SAFE-R (safety area for extensive rescue) programme would automatically deduct one Euro from the price of each lift ticket sold. It added service provider Alpgarant would oversee programme processing.

Alpgarant chief Alexander Bauer said he had approached lift operators about the idea last April and had not come across any significant opposition.

Given the ski areas’ need for long-term planning, he added, only a few operators had so far backed the scheme, but more would be before the 2010/2011 ski season.

Sturmlechner said Allianz expected lift operators to cooperate since other solutions faced great obstacles. Coverage of the 73 per cent of winter-sports guests who came from abroad was an aspect of the programme that could be used to help market it, he added.

Most of them had no idea that they could be asked to pay the cost of a mountain rescue or medical emergency, he said.

Under 40 per cent of Austrians who engaged in winter sports had private accident insurance or a letter of protection from car club ÖAMTC, Sturmlechner said, adding polls showed 90 per cent of Austrians were prepared to pay one Euro more for a lift ticket.

Austrian Times

Related articles: weather chaos

1. Russian girl in intensive care after ski crash

   » General News 2010-01-06

   A ten-year-old Russian girl is in intensive care as she collapsed minutes after a skiing accident.

2. Rescue helicopters in the air for 244 days last year

   » General News 2010-01-04

   Car club ÖAMTC reported today (Mon) its 16 rescue helicopters had been in the air for 244 days last year.

3. Vienna overnights down

   » Business 2009-12-22

   Overnight stay numbers dropped in the capital last month, tourism bosses in Vienna have reported.

more related articles tagged "weather chaos"

Foglar infuriated by 'tactical games'
Austrian Trade Union (ÖGB) President Erich Foglar has accused the vice chancellor of "playing games".

Le Carré novel hits the big screen
A new espionage film is now on at the Burgkino Vienna where all movies are screened in their original versions.

Kadyrov welcomes Austrian right-wingers
A delegation of representatives of a rightist Austrian party met with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, it has emerged.

Gourmet evenings at Linsberg Asia
Less than an hour away from Vienna is the Linsberg Asia - four star hotel, spa and culinary hotspot. For several years now the Linsberg restaurant has been producing award-winning food, receiving the ultimate accolade in the most recent Gault Millau when its lamb was described simply as melt in the mouth.

Felderer 'disappointed' as government eyes up tax hikes
A leading economist has criticised the government for making tax hikes an essential part of its upcoming savings package.

Unionists criticise hotels over mini-jobbers
Labour union leaders are alarmed as the number of tourism sector mini-jobbers is climbing.

Satek snatches Zielpunkt
A German businessman has taken over Zielpunkt.

Europe's highest brewery in Austria
Europe’s highest brewery has opened in Austria. The "Asitz Bräu" which opened for business on 17 December last year, is located at 1,760 metres and is run by the Altenberger family, owners of four star hotel "Der Krallerhof" in Leogang.

Austria registers decrease of business bankruptcies
The number of Austrian business bankruptcies is in decline despite increasingly difficult economic circumstances in Europe.

Austria registers decrease of business bankruptcies
The number of Austrian business bankruptcies is in decline despite increasingly difficult economic circumstances in Europe.