ANTERSELVA, Italy: As the world's attention turns to the Winter Games, the north Italian valley of Antholz-Anterselva is bracing for a tourism surge, with hotels, restaurants, and outdoor attractions hoping the global spotlight on biathlon will translate into lasting gains.

The biathlon events at the Milano Cortina Winter Games will be staged at the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena, a venue already familiar to fans of the sport through its annual World Cup races.

At Nancy's Holiday Homes, about 16 km from the arena, owner Nancy Prugger watched as Swiss athletes filled her lobby, fielding questions from journalists ahead of the opening competitions.

On Sunday, the mixed relay kicks off the biathlon programme, with Italian stars Dorothea Wierer and Tommaso Giacomel set to race, driving excitement across the region.

"Doro and Tommy are obviously very popular. They're our heroes in many ways, and we'll be cheering very much for them. People here, we have a long culture of biathlon ... it has a long tradition here, and people are very involved," Prugger told Reuters.

A native of the area, Prugger returned after years working elsewhere in northern Italy and transformed her parents' former campsite into a cluster of homes and chalets that now draw outdoor enthusiasts year-round.

"Wintertime, we have mostly skiers, so downhill skiers, cross-country skiers. Biathlon, of course, is not a sport so many people practice, but we have the World Cup event here every year," she explains.

"We also have a lot of people who are hiking as well in winter, we have nice hiking paths going up to the end of the valley, so that's mostly what people come here for, just to be in nature."

The valley lies amid the dramatic, snow-covered peaks of the Dolomites, part of the Italian Alps, where ski lifts slice through dense forests and locals and tourists alike ride public transport to the slopes, skis over their shoulders.

Surprised Outsiders

Visitors are often struck by the bilingual street signs and menus written in both German and Italian. The region sits within the autonomous province of South Tyrol, bordering Austria, where more than half the population are native German speakers.

Italy occupied the area at the end of World War I and formally annexed it in 1919, with its current autonomous status shaped by an Austro-Italian treaty signed in 1971.

Many Italian biathletes hail from the region and speak German as their first language, while local menus pair pizza and pasta with Tyrolean staples such as dumplings and game stews — a cultural mix that can sometimes prompt questions of identity.

"We get that question asked a lot and I guess it should be answered person by person, but we are of course Italian citizens, we are Italian, we have a special autonomy," Plugger explains.

"We have three languages here - Italian, German, and Ladin - with different cultures and traditions, and they're all essential to us, but it's not about choosing something - nothing excludes the other, I think it's just coexisting, that's just who we are."

While the annual biathlon World Cup already draws steady attention, local business owners say the Olympics represent a different scale entirely, and many expect the exposure to bring a post-Games upswing in visitors.

Asked to sum up the region's appeal, Prugger pauses, then laughs. "Besides the wonderful landscape and the nice people and the good cuisine? We have a lot of things to do here. For me personally, the most beautiful thing is that things really change through the four seasons," she said.

"I think it's the mixture, the combination of nature and cultures and traditions that make this a very special place."