00:00As athletes prepare to hit Milan Cortina's slopes, let's take a look at the solid growth of the winter sports economy in Europe.
00:12The Milan Cortina Olympics are just a few days away. More than 3,000 athletes from 93 countries are going to compete in more than 100 medal events across 16 disciplines.
00:23The Olympics are expected to draw up to 2 million visitors to Northern Italy and further boost the country's winter economy.
00:32Data shows a 20% year-on-year spending growth at Italian ski resorts, the highest among Europe's top winter destinations, level with Austria, spending also significantly increased in France, Switzerland and Norway.
00:46Sports aside, winter tourists like to splurge most on restaurants, ranking higher than hotels and groceries.
00:54You're most likely to come across German tourists during the colder months.
00:5980% of them like to spend the winter holidays abroad.
01:03The Alps are not an option for the Finns, who like to ski domestically.
01:07Poles too stay local and the majority of the French stay in France, which also happens to be the Brit's favourite destination.
01:14Most UK tourists actually prefer ice skating to skiing, a passion shared with the Hungarians, while their Romanian neighbours are crazy about dog sledding.
01:25Sledding.
01:26Sledding.
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