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| - Proposals for an EU-wide ban on ski holidays to curb coronavirus infections came under heavy fire in Austria on Thursday, with government and industry representatives warning that the fallout for the country's tourism-reliant economy would be "disastrous". Germany and Italy are pushing for Europe to ban such ski holidays as the number of worldwide infections reached a new peak of more than 60 million. But as Austria's more than 250 ski destinations make much of their profits during the Christmas and New Year period, industry representatives suggest the move could knock up to a third off total revenues for the sector. "This would be absolutely disastrous, not just for us but the entire country," said Franz Hoerl, head of the Austrian ski lift operators' association and a member of parliament. On Tuesday, Austrian finance minister Gernot Bluemel estimated that the proposed ban would cost the sector up to two billion euros ($2.4 billion). Winter sports-mad Austria is currently under lockdown until December 7. And ski resorts and the government have invested millions of euros in coronavirus measures for the coming season, with lifts and resorts planning to open in time for Christmas. Last season, one of the first destinations to be affected was Ischgl, a tiny village in the western province of Tyrol, where more than 6,000 tourists are thought to have contracted the virus. "We live off tourism not 100 percent, but 110 percent, so this would be an enormous strain on us," Andreas Steibl, head of Ischgl's tourism association, said of the proposed ban. While the EU's health commissioner has suggested that an EU-wide ban was unlikely, Italy and France have said their own ski lifts will remain closed throughout the Christmas holidays. And in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged people not to go on skiing trips this winter. But if German tourists stayed away, it would be "catastrophic" and "very questionable whether we can open" at all, said Anna Griesser, spokeswoman for a cable car company in the ski resort of Pitztal in Tyrol. deh/jsk/spm
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