According to a survey conducted by the European insurance company, ERV Evropská pojišťovna, 43% of Czechs plan to go to the mountains this winter season, a 13% increase from last year. Most people will choose domestic ski resorts. Of those planning a mountain holiday, most want to visit the mountains during the spring break, while 15% will go between Christmas and New Year.
68% of Czechs who have chosen the mountains as their winter holiday destination this year plan to stay in the Czech Republic and take advantage of its winter resorts. People who want to go abroad choose Italy, followed by Austria and Slovakia. In terms of transport, car transport is the most prevalent.
According to the survey, 39% of Czechs plan to go to the mountains in January, about 40% will go in February, and 17% of people plan to go skiing in March. “Overall, it can be seen that Czechs are more interested in escaping to the mountains in the spring holidays, which this year run from 7 February to 20 March,” commented Vlastimil Divoký, marketing and communications manager of ERV European Insurance Company.
In terms of the number of injuries and their severity, skiing is the riskiest sport. It is second behind football for men, while it dominates the sports risk ranking for women. ERV statistics show that a third of skiing injuries are serious, while snowboarding injuries are severe in 50% of all cases.
If people go to the mountains abroad, they should think about insurance. Most medical facilities abroad are private, and the European Health Insurance Card is not valid, according to Divoký. In addition, Italy will require every skier to have liability insurance starting in January.
The survey was conducted for ERV Evropská pojišťovna by NMS Market Research in the first week of November and involved 1,007 people.