The Trentino Alto Adige region has a worldwide reputation for great skiing, cutting-edge snow equipment, and a level of know-how that makes it such an ideal location for the Alpitec and Prowinter shows. Bringing the winter sports season to a satisfying end for visitors and exhibitors alike, these winter sport and technology festivals recorded 9,300 visitors over three days, packed with workshops, award ceremonies, and opportunities to meet up, aimed at the entire industry. 

"Once again, combining the two events proved a winning move, as confirmed by visitors’ surveys. As far as Alpitec is concerned, we are confident that the event has become one of the most important occasions for the Italian market. Over 70% of the national cableway operators attended the fair, including companies from the south and particularly from the field of cable installations and snow spraying, and the ANEF corporation even used the occasion to hold their annual meeting." says Reinhold Marsoner, Manager of the Bolzano Exhibition Centre. "What is more, the traditional Skiareatest award ceremony attracted the managements of major international and national ski districts, making Alpitec 2012 a success for all the companies in the industry," he concludes. A survey performed by Bolzano Exhibition Centre on a sample of 300 visitors also showed that traders came mainly from the winter sports equipment hire and maintenance sector, followed by ski and snowboard schools, ski clubs, and manufacturers and distributors of sports gear. 24.3% of respondents came from Alto Adige, 23.3% from Trentino, almost 50% from other regions of Italy (46.1%) and 6.3% came from abroad. Prowinter was also appreciated, with the traders interviewed expressing almost 100% positive opinions, ranging from "good" (51.1%) or "very good" (40.3%) to "satisfactory" (7.8%). Only 0.7% did not express a positive view. Alpitec was also appreciated, with the visitors interviewed expressing almost 98% positive opinions, ranging from "good" (39.1%) or "very good" (39.1%), to "satisfactory" (19.6%). Only 2.2% did not express a positive view. 90% of the visitors at Prowinter and 97% of visitors at Alpitec said they would be back next year. Prowinter is scheduled for 17th to 19th April 2013 on its own, while in April 2014 it will be held in conjunction with Alpitec again.

This year Prowinter was also accompanied by the Ski Touring Show, for fans of this particular realm of skiing. Around 45 exhibitors showcased specialist products for this niche sport, which - together with a full program of events dedicated to ski touring enthusiasts - proved popular with all those who attended.

The exhibitors were also very positive about the event:

Benedikt Arquint – Bartholet Maschinenbau
“We see a great potential in the Italian market, one in which we have been active for several years.  We have now been able to sell our first installation in Italy, and for that reason, we are presenting ourselves here in the region in order to give it our support and to stimulate international competition here.  The success of this edition has confirmed that we made the right decision.  We also very much appreciated that 70-75% of Italian cableway operators were present here in Bolzano and also visited our stand.  That is yet another indication of how attractive the tradeshow location of Bolzano is.”
Lorenzo Bonato - Intercom
“We participate in Alpitec in order to meet our potential customers and to find new contacts in regions and areas in which we are not yet present.  This tradeshow has brought us some new contacts, from Central Italy all the way down to Mt. Etna in Sicily.”
Riccardo Carlesso – Onis Visa
“We are participating in Alpitec for the first time this year, and for us, it is a vehicle for presenting our products.  We come from Treviso, but we have also been present in Alto Adige/South Tyrol for decades.  This is where we find our target visitors, and we have made excellent contacts with potential customers from the region.”

From 18 to 20 April there is a series of events to examine in depth the themes of the sector and celebrate the places, sportspeople and professionals of the world of snow

Just a few weeks are left from the start of the twelfth edition of Prowinter, the sole European b2b fair dedicated to winter sports hire and services, which is combined this year with Alpitec, the international Alpine and winter technology fair. The fair programme will also be enhanced with a rich calendar of fringe events. Workshops, film shows, meeting and award ceremonies will be held inside the exhibition areas inside the pavilions of the Bolzano Fair.
Three days entirely dedicated to the world of the mountains and winter sports that will be attended by the different categories of industry operators, from manufacturers of clothing and technical materials to rental shops, from ski services to plant experts, from ski clubs to trade organizations and the champions of the various winter sports disciplines. One important appointment is the review of the 2011/2012 season, where we will find out about new developments, previews and trends for winter 2012/2013. An increasing number of exhibitors will be taking part in the next edition of the Fair thanks to the introduction of a new platform dedicated to ski touring, which opens the door to a whole new series of specialized companies.

The first edition of Stricker Visions will open proceedings at 17.30 on 17 April at the Salewa Headquarters in Bolzano.
The event has been conceived and nurtured by Linda Esser and Nina Stricker, the wife and daughter of the “crazy horse” of skiing who died recently. It is intended as a tribute to the highly innovative and original approach that always informed everything Erwin Stricker did. The first edition of the Erwin Stricker Factory of the Future adopts the motto that guided Erwin: “Good visions and crazy ideas!”. And another two exceptional men, his brothers in arms, will be talking about their own good visions & crazy ideas: Klaus Heidegger, former Austrian slalom champion and today a multi-entrepreneur, and Riccardo Corato, the former Head of Marketing and Events at Ellesse. Every year, three candidates are nominated for the Geierschnabel Prize (the prize takes its name from the hooked tip designed by Stricker), which is awarded to people who have made a significant and unusual contribution to winter sports.
Wednesday 18 April, at 11.00, the official opening ceremony takes place. From the stage of the Prowinter Forum, the curtain will be officially raised on the new edition of Prowinter and Alpitec 2012. At 12.00, the Order of Ski Instructors of South Tyrol and the Tourist Board of the Province of Bolzano will hand out the diplomas to the new skiing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing instructors, who from next season will be hard at it on the slopes of South Tyrol passing on the basics and secrets of the various skiing disciplines
Thursday 19 April, at 9.00 it’s the turn of the Assemblea Nazionale ANEF – the National Meeting of Cable Car Operators – admission restricted to cable car operators. Topics of interest to industry professionals at the end of the season that has just closed will be addressed. At 10.00 there will be the traditional appointment with International SkiAreaTest, the ceremony in which the best Alpine resorts in the 2011/2012 season will be given their awards at the end of a selection process by 220 anonymous inspectors. In addition to the winners of the categories ski lifts, ski stations, restaurants, après-ski venues, ski schools, sport shops and services for children, the best ski slopes will also be assigned the international quality seal.
In the afternoon, from 14.30, the sixth edition of the Energiapura Children Series award ceremony will take place. This is the fruit of collaboration between Race Ski Magazine and Energiapura. During the ceremony, the best young Italian sportspeople in the Pupil and Youth categories will be honoured who compete for the title in the Topolino, Pinocchio and Italian Championships competitions. The prize will be the exclusive limited-edition Energiapura ski suit. At 15.00 the D.S.I. – Ski Resort Management – Mountain Professions – will hold a conference that is restricted to invited professionals (Sala

“Vajolet” room). After that - at 16.30 – there’s the eleventh edition of the Gran Premio Pool Sci Italia, the prize-giving ceremony honouring the best Italian sportspeople for the 2011/2012 season, promoted by Pool Sci Italia and Race Ski Magazine. For the occasion, the national team’s finest will be coming to the Fair to receive their prestigious awards. At 16.45 the stage of the Alpitec/Prowinter Forum will welcome South Tyrol’s most successful sportspeople over the season. The prizes will be handed out by the FISI South Tyrol (the Regional Committee of the Italian Winter Sports Federation).
The theme of the last day of the Fair on Friday 20 April will be ski touring, thanks to the new Prowinter Skitouring platform that is the exhibition contribution of Prowinter/Alpitec. During the morning, the Sala “Vajolet” room will become a cinema thanks to the presentation of attractive documentaries from the archive of the Trento Filmfestival, the Trentino film festival dedicated to the world of mountaineering and the mountains. This year’s partner is FieraBolzano SpA. One of the documentaries, “Mount St. Elias” (Austria, 2009) tells the story of the attempt by three of the world’s greatest skiers to make the longest descent ever down Mount St. Elias in Alaska. The film won the Silver Gentian as the best technical and artistic contribution to the 58th TrentoFilmfestival in 2010. It will be followed by a film consisting of various images entitled “Skiing at the TrentoFilmFestival”. La Sportiva will be handing out the awards at Prowinter 2012 to the winners of the first Photocontest dedicated to ski touring. At 11.00 the names of the photographers will be revealed who took what are considered to be the most beautiful, creative and emotional shots around the central theme of ski touring. The best shots selected for the competition can be enjoyed directly at the Fair in a dedicated exhibition. At 12.00 the “gran finale” of the Prowinter Cup will take place: the circuit of ski touring competitions promoted during the 2011-2012 season by FieraBolzano in collaboration with Dolomitisottolestelle. This initiative was a great success that saw over 300 sportspersons competing for the Trophy in six events in South Tyrol, Trentino and Belluno. From circuit to circuit, at 13.00 there will be the presentation of La Grand Course, with a viewing of the video showing the stages of the ski touring circuit that comprises Europe’s most important and prestigious competitions: Adamello Ski, Patrouille des Glaciers (Switzerland), Pierra Menta (France), Tour du Rutor and Trofeo Mezzalama.
In the afternoon the world-famous ski tourer Sebastian Haag (Dynafit Team) is expected at Prowinter 2012. At 14.00 he will present his latest expedition and the documentary “Patagonia”. Subsequently, at 15.00, there will be the Dynafit Ski Touring Storyboard prize-giving. This has been organized in collaboration with Ski-alper magazine in order to create a special “storyboard” with photographs, texts and travel suggestions provided directly by the readers. 
With the Skitouring platform, Prowinter will this year leave the pavilions of the Bolzano Fair thanks to an initiative run in collaboration with the German Alpin – Das Bergwelt Magazine. Lovers of ski touring can enjoy a weekend package (from Friday 20 April to Sunday 22 April) on the snow of the Val Senales valley. The events include the night-time ascent to the Bella Vista Refuge (Friday), dinner and overnight stay. The day after there is an excursion accompanied by a local Alpine guide to the place where Ötzi, the prehistoric hunter was found perfectly preserved in a glacier. The second night will be spent in a hotel in the Val Senales valley. On the Sunday the skiers can use the Salewa “Cube” climbing gym in Bolzano. Emergency assistance during the excursions will be provided by the Associazione Guide Alpine Passiria-Senales.
The Alpitec/Prowinter Forum will be the centre of the winter sports world for three days: on the stage there will be a procession of sportspeople, professionals and people working in winter sports. This again highlights the importance of the Bolzano Fair in the calendars of ski enthusiasts and in the diaries of those who earn their living from winter sports.

From April 18 to 20, 2012, the double tradeshow “Alpitec/Prowinter 2012” will once again be taking place in Bolzano – two weeks after the Eastertime end of the season  These two events are held together every two years and offer a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in winter technologies and ski area equipment as well as the most up-to-date trends in winter and mountain sports.  With what is now the third time that this double event is being held, “Alpitec/Prowinter” has established itself as more than just an important meeting point for the sector in Italy and the German-speaking area of the Alps – the event concept that has reached full maturity has also been successful at other locations: together with the Messe München International trade fair center, this coming year the Fiera Bolzano/Messe Bozen will organize the fourth edition of “ispo Beijing/Alpitec China” (February 22 to 25, 2012), which has in the meantime developed into the uncontested leading event in Asia and in particular in the booming ski and winter technology market of China.

Repeating Good Results
“Alpitec/Prowinter” drew to a close two years ago with around over 9,300 visitors from within the industry and 370 exhibitors.  According to the Bolzano/Bozen Exhibition Center, all indications point to these results also being repeated next year.  Thus the appeal of “Prowinter”, the international tradeshow for sales, rentals, and services for winter sports which takes place every year is undiminished above all in the Italian market (for 2011: 5,800 visitors and 246 exhibitors).

But within the visitor structure of the past two double tradeshows, those who were “purely” interested in Prowinter only made up around 40 percent.  A total of 60 percent of the visitors purposefully informed themselves in Bolzano about mountain and winter technologies, whereby a large portion determinedly took advantage of the combination offer with the parallel tradeshow.  The Bolzano/Bozen Exhibition Center is also taking these circumstances into account in 2012.  Two exhibition center areas that border each other physically but are thematically clearly structured guarantee quick and professional information in the sector.

“Alpitec 2012” will once again cover all of the classic areas of winter technology: in addition to cable cars and chair lifts, snowmaking technology, and slope grooming equipment, smaller snowgoing vehicles and four-season vehicles will be on display, as will machinery solutions for snow clearing and summer maintenance.  The offering of information is rounded out by modern guest management with admissions control and service administration, communications and information technologies, and the area of slope safety and rescue.

Participation has been already been confirmed well in advance, primarily by the major manufacturers from South Tyrol which are active worldwide.  The great radiant power of the tradeshow on the German-language markets of the Alps as well as the neighboring areas of Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe once again proves the promise of the companies which are traditionally active in this important core market.  Alpitec exhibitors are also profiting more and more from the intense contacts within the sector which the tradeshow organizer from Bolzano has in the highly dynamic Asian markets. 

The Bolzano/Bozen Exhibition Center is planning a constantly updated directory of exhibitors around the start of the new year at www.alpitec.it 

Informative Accompanying Events with Awarding of Prizes
“Alpitec/Prowinter” is traditionally accompanied by conferences, meetings within the sector, and events regarding the latest trends.  In 2012, as well, organizations from the branch will once again provide targeted expert information at the “Alpitec/ProWinter Forum” held directly at the Exhibition Center.  Also present will be a variety of operator and ski instructor associations which take advantage of the tradeshow pair as a podium for honors and awards.  There is also a long tradition in Bolzano of the announcement of the winners of the international Ski Area Test. 

Negotiations are currently underway with the Italian cableway association ANEF to once again hold their annual meeting in Bolzano.  The program of the event is still currently being arranged.  At the international level, an event by the O.I.T.A.F. is expected.  As an appropriate addendum to the meeting within the sector, the international experts are expected to deal with topics from the areas of financing and marketing. 

ALPITEC/PROWINTER 2012
Date:     April 18-20, 2012
Opening hours:   Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Friday     10.00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. 
Admission:   only for visitors from the sector
Ticket prices:    one day ticket: 10 euros, 50% discount with pre-registration on the Internet
    three day pass: 14 euros
For information, please see: www.alpitec.it

As a first-class vacation destination in Europe, the region of Trentino-Alto Adige offers its guests no fewer than 614 ski lift facilities with a maximum transport capacity of 841,000 passengers per hour.  This represents a full forty percent of all of the facilities in Italy.  So where else besides in this region would the ideal location be for the double tradeshow "Alpitec/Prowinter”? It will be serving the national and international market from April 18 to 20, 2012.

 The ski slopes with the Dolomites as the fantasy background comprise an area of 5,200 hectares (13,000 acres).  Every year, around 11 million tourists spend their vacations in the region of Trentino-Alto Adige.  The northernmost region of Italy records nearly 50 million overnight stays per year – 20 million of them in the winter. 
    In July, the holding company Trentino Sviluppo presented its figures on winter tour-ism: so far, it has invested 79 million euros in sixteen cableway companies.  The ten largest ski resorts of this holding company in Trentino generate an indirect profitability of 688 mil-lion euros.  Against the background of these figures, the holding company is planning on investments in cableway systems of 142 million euros in its three-year plan. 
    In Alto Adige, around 130 million passengers were transported with cableway sys-tems during the last winter season.  Investments that were carried out in 2009 in ski lift facilities came to 86 million euros, with another 42 million euros added in 2010.  Over the past five years, an average of more than 50 million euros was invested every year for the new construction and renovation of cableway systems, snowmaking systems, and other infrastructure. 
    Guests in Trentino-Alto Adige experience the finest in winter sports against a fantasy background.  Responsible for this are both the tourism operators and the companies within the sector with their specialized know-how.  Also making a contribution in quality tourism during the winter is the international double tradeshow “Alpitec/Prowinter”, at which the industry meets every two years in mid-April for an exchange of information.  The full gamut of new technologies and services in presented, running from the most accurate of timing devices to entire ski lift operations, and the associated know-how is also conveyed.  While up to just a few years ago, the presentation of exhibits and the taking of orders was the main focus, the tradeshows of today are much more than just a pure product show: the personal exchange of information and customer care at tradeshows are gaining in impor-tance more and more. 

You can find complete information on the double tradeshow at:
www.alpitec.it
www.prowinter.it

With the three tradeshows “Alpitec”, “Alpitec China”, and “Prowinter” covering the areas of mountain and winter technologies as well as winter sports rentals and services, the Bolzano/Bozen Exhibition Center in South Tyrol, Italy has established itself as the country’s number one meeting point in the sector and a 360°platform for the entire winter sports sector.

In April 2012, as is always the case in even-numbered years, “Prowinter”, the International Tradeshow for Rentals and Services for Winter Sports took place along with “Alpitec”, the International Tradeshow for Mountain and Winter Technologies.  Two years ago, this double tradeshow with a total of 370 exhibitors from fifteen countries drew 9,300 visitors from the sector from twenty-four different nations.  The successful double event “Alpitec/Prowinter” is held in the heart of the Alps from April 18 to 20, 2012 and signifies a successful symbiosis in the sector, since with mountain and winter technologies along with rentals and services for winter sports, two closely related areas are united.  The exhibition areas of “Alpitec” range from ski slope and cross country ski trail equipment to snowmaking and ski lift facilities to guest services, personnel equipment, winter service vehicles, safety, and rescue.  Those of “Prowinter”, on the other hand,  comprise equipment and accessories for winter sports, technical clothing for skiing schools and ski clubs, machines and furnishings for ski rentals and equipment, services, and safety provisions for winter ski areas, from flex poles to ski grinding machines to cashier systems.
   
    While Europe is seeing itself confronted with sinking numbers of winter sports enthusiasts, the interest in skiing sports is booming in China.  With the cooperation of the Munich International Trade Fairs, the double tradeshow “ispo china/Alpitec China” was launched in 2009 in order to meet the needs of the up-and-coming Asian market in the winter sports sector. The 2012 edition of ispo Bejing/Alpitec China will take place from February 22 to 25. The comprehensive accompanying events with specialized conferences such as the Asia Pacific Snow Conference (APSC) and other events in conjunction with this double tradeshow make it one of the most important platforms for communications and networking for the winter sports sector in the Asian market.