Martina Jamnig is the director of the Austrian National Tourist Office UK, promoting a country which she describes as a “playground for sport”.
Originating from Austria’s sunshine state Carinthia, which borders with Italy and Slovenia, adventure sport is in her blood, as is football. As a season ticket holder at Arsenal FC, she plans vacations around the team’s playing schedule and has travelled far and wide following the Gunners.
Her two main passions, sport and travel, have been a consistent thread throughout her life, both personally and professionally. Examples of this include having worked as a project executive, in close collaboration with Uefa, for the Euro 2008 football championship. She also volunteered at the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, where she worked with football referees.
Holding a Master’s degree in Sport Management and the Business of Football, she is without doubt an ideal candidate for our interview series…
What was your most memorable sporting holiday and why?
There are many great ones I could mention and a few not so good ones – for example, the trip to Baku to watch Arsenal lose the Europa League final. But a great one was definitely the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa. I was able to watch some thrilling games whilst also travelling through South Africa, which is an amazing country. These factors made it incredibly memorable; I cite the combination of great football – I watched Brazil for the first time (in their game against Holland) – and the freedom to travel through such an enthralling country.
MBT Zillertal Tourismus image by Daniel Geiger
What is the best sporting venue/arena you have had a chance to visit and why?
There really are some great venues, venues with great history, which you have to visit once in your lifetime and tick off the bucket list. These include Camp Nou in Barcelona, Anfield in Liverpool, Maracana in Rio de Janeiro or the San Siro in Milan. I always try to visit at least one stadium (and watch a game) when I visit a country. However, the best venue, is of course the Emirates Stadium, not just because I am an Arsenal supporter, but because it simply is a very beautiful stadium, taking into account the shape and how it has been built.
If I have to choose a ‘neutral’ one, I would probably choose the Stadio Olympico in Rome – not because of the stadium, but because of the atmosphere. I was lucky enough to watch a AS Roma game and the fans there are just incredible. When they started singing their anthem – “Roma Roma” – you really get goosebumps.
If you could choose one adrenaline or adventure activity to do on holiday what would it be and where?
Off-piste skiing for sure. I have been in different Austrian resorts like St. Anton am Arlberg, Obertauern or Fieberbrunn, which were all fantastic. But I really would like to do some heli-skiing in Canada.
What’s the ultimate sporting tournament you would attend purely as a fan and/or spectator and why?
I was already lucky enough to attend the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany, the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa as mentioned before plus various Euro Championships in Austria, Portugal and France. The big tournaments are always very special, the atmosphere in the country is always great, and you can combine it with visiting other countries and discovering a new culture. Of course it is always better if my country – Austria (or my second favourite when it comes to football – The Netherlands) – are in the tournament and play good games. However, nothing will beat the Premier League and watching Arsenal.
Austria is a major destination for sports travel so could you pick your top three activities that you have had a chance to experience yourself?
Skiing and snowboarding, kitesurfing / snow kiting, climbing (or now it is just hiking).
Wandern Wilder Kaiser (image by Peter von Felbert)
Of course, Austria’s natural assets define its ‘sport tourism’ offering but what else makes the country so strong in this market?
Austria’s landscape is just a playground for sport’s enthusiasts. We have the mountains but also the valleys and lakes which are great for water sports (we even have Olympic gold medal winners in sailing). Austria also offers value for money. The quality is really good. And of course also the ‘Gemütlichkeit’ (cosiness), we are a bit more laid back.
See more details at austria.info. If you would like to Austria virtually see austria.info/virtual-austria