Snow joke! Get your skis on!
2009-09-30
Skiing first came in to my awareness when there was a terrible snow storm and everywhere locally was cut off. Yet a lone figure dressed in military gear was spotted enjoying cross-country skiing. It transpired that he was a champion Royal Marine skier who decided he wanted to go and visit a friend in a nearby village! But a different and equally terrible snow storm is sweeping through the ski holiday industry, as many ski holiday specialist firms find that they can no longer weather the storm of the recession.
You might have seen press reports about the decision to put a halt to the famous and highly popular Rail Europe Snowtrain service, purely on economic grounds. And the Descent International chalet company has collapsed, as did Ski All America, when it's parent company, All America Holidays, bit the dust. Or should we say, bit the snow.
Things have been exceptionally hard for the ski holiday firms, companies that run the resorts, specialist travel agents and so forth. All caused by the worst recession for many years. Staycations are to blame, consider some experts. After all, if you work in -say- the City and do not know if you'll have a job by the end of the year, you might think, to book a cottage in France, Ireland, Devon or Wales than to splash out a small fortune on a ski holiday in Aspen or the Austrian Tirol. And that's the rub for some people. What felt like a modest sum of money two years ago looks like a 'small fortune' today.
The annual report from Crystal Holidays paints a somewhat glum picture:
The report shows that the ski market fell by over 13.0% and this was over all sectors during the last season. And this was despite the good early sales of ski holidays and very good snow conditions. The fall came after seven successive years of growth. There was a drop in the number of people taking ski holidays and travelling from abroad from 1.22m in 2007/8 to just over 1m in 2008/9. But all is not gloomy, as there are some positive points in the report. “However, the encouraging sign was the schools market which remained stable with more than 140,000 young skiers taking to the slopes and memories of last season’s great snow will have whet the appetite of many skiers to return,” the report points out.
People who have previously relied on last minute bargain ski holidays may find slim pickings this season, Crystal's report warns. Many chalet firms have decided to offer less chalets this year in a bid to cut costs, and many of the larger ski holiday operators will, it is expected, reduce the number of ski holiday places they will have for sale.
As Crystal's MD Mathew Prior so succinctly put it: “Winter 08/09 was a difficult year for the ski industry and 09/10 poses challenges for us all. Our research shows that the key is to inspire customers, remind them how fantastic a ski holiday is and create good value and compelling holidays. We know that in their hearts no skier wants to miss out on a season provided they can justify the expense. Creating transparently good value deals I see as the key to ensuring that as many as possible return to the slopes this coming season.” But! With some of the big well-known players looking to reduce costs by reducing places, it's likely that some of the more savy and specialist chalet owners and ski tour operators might be ready to offer some special deals.
Check Internet, your local travel agent and dedicated ski holiday agents to see what deals you can make. Plus, check the aph website for pre-book savings on your winter aiport parking.
