Welcome to Winterberg, Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany. Two different occasions in different seasons brought me to this nice mountain resort and I would like tell you how you can have a great time here in winter or in the summer time.
Exactly on the 30th of November 2013, two months since my arrival in Cologne, I went on a study trip alongside our Tourism Economics professor, Dr. Jürgen Fischbach, who is the Marketing Manager of the Sauerland DMO. Winterberg was our destination and the visit was unforgettable. We were accommodated at the Erlebnisberg Kappe Hostel, but on the first day we didn't spend to much time there because we had to film a presentation video for a new winter product: Zipfelbob. Zipfelbob is a sort of plastic sleigh with a handle in the middle, with which you can steer... sort of. Anyway, in 2013-2014 it was a trendy product and even a Zipfelbob competition was organized. The video was published a few months later online and you can watch it below. Although the weather was rainy, the snow cannons did their job and we could have a good time.
The second part of the visit meant taking part in the qualifying round of the Luge Word Championship on the 1st of December 2013. My colleagues and I received questionnaire forms in order to interview the participants to this event. I was lucky to meet the Romanian representatives and talk to them before their race. It was a good race. The results of the research were then used to improve the marketing campaigns of the destination. The 1 st of December also brought the much-needed natural snow, and the landscape became immediately a fairy-tail.
The second part of the visit meant taking part in the qualifying round of the Luge Word Championship on the 1st of December 2013. My colleagues and I received questionnaire forms in order to interview the participants to this event. I was lucky to meet the Romanian representatives and talk to them before their race. It was a good race. The results of the research were then used to improve the marketing campaigns of the destination. The 1 st of December also brought the much-needed natural snow, and the landscape became immediately a fairy-tail.
The second visit happened last week, on the 21.04.2016 at a temperature of 20 degrees and with a clear blue sky. The visit had a professional purpose, an interview with the Erlebnisberg Kappe Winterberg company. Yes, you are right. It is the same company that owns the hostel where I was accommodated two years ago. But before I talk about the organization, I would like to present the resort.
Winterberg is a winter resort with a catchy name, which evolved due to the ski industry. In this part of Europe you can seldom enjoy snow or ski. So for those people that don't want to travel hundreds of kilometers to the south of Germany, to France or Austria, neither to Scandinavia and neither to a Skidome, they can enjoy winter in Winterberg. In Nordrhein Westfalen alone live 18 million people, on which you can add about 17 million Dutch tourists and a couple million Belgian ones. They make a great market for the white sport (I mean ski not tennis). The highlands in Germany top at about 1000 meters but the climate accommodates snow for about three months per year. In Winterberg exist many slopes each with it's own lift, operated by different companies which work together. This competition was beneficial, meaning that the state-of-the-art infrastructure attracts tourists from far and wide.
Erlebnisberg Kappe also developed its services on this basis. Everything is nice in the winter, but what do you do in the summer? The need to use the lifts all year round brought a new idea to the table, simultaneously with the rising trend of Downhill Bike. Downhill is a type of Mountain Bike practiced on rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. It is similar to the Downhill Ski, that we often see on television. Riders must choose their line by compromising between the shortest possible line and the line that can be traveled at the highest speed, while remaining between the two tapes designating the course. Once you get down, you put another coin in the jukebox baby and take the lift back to the top of the hill. And so a new target group was created for the region, which is most active during the weekends.
Winterberg is a winter resort with a catchy name, which evolved due to the ski industry. In this part of Europe you can seldom enjoy snow or ski. So for those people that don't want to travel hundreds of kilometers to the south of Germany, to France or Austria, neither to Scandinavia and neither to a Skidome, they can enjoy winter in Winterberg. In Nordrhein Westfalen alone live 18 million people, on which you can add about 17 million Dutch tourists and a couple million Belgian ones. They make a great market for the white sport (I mean ski not tennis). The highlands in Germany top at about 1000 meters but the climate accommodates snow for about three months per year. In Winterberg exist many slopes each with it's own lift, operated by different companies which work together. This competition was beneficial, meaning that the state-of-the-art infrastructure attracts tourists from far and wide.
Erlebnisberg Kappe also developed its services on this basis. Everything is nice in the winter, but what do you do in the summer? The need to use the lifts all year round brought a new idea to the table, simultaneously with the rising trend of Downhill Bike. Downhill is a type of Mountain Bike practiced on rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. It is similar to the Downhill Ski, that we often see on television. Riders must choose their line by compromising between the shortest possible line and the line that can be traveled at the highest speed, while remaining between the two tapes designating the course. Once you get down, you put another coin in the jukebox baby and take the lift back to the top of the hill. And so a new target group was created for the region, which is most active during the weekends.
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Erlebnisberg Kappe took fun to new heights by building a summer toboggan run, a panoramic bridge and a climbing adventure park with many parcours in the woods. I had the chance to test the bridge and the toboggan myself, for the parcours I'll be back having the appropriate clothing. Anyway, you can also have a lot of fun in the summer, especially on a day like this.
Next month the Dirt Masters Festival 2016 takes place in Winterberg, event that will attract about 30,000 spectators and dozens of bike professionals. You can watch the trailer for the event directly below. |
These were my nice memories regarding Winterberg. Hope you have enjoyed it. So I'll see you at the Dirt Master event between the 13th and 16 of May, right?
R.C.
R.C.
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