Partly Due to the Recession Many Ski Businesses Are Cutting Their Number of Luxury Catered Ski Chalets
Thanks to the recession skiing accommodation occupancies lowered last winter.
Notwithstanding acceptable early season bookings and first class snow conditions.
This reduction in holidaymakers follows on from five years of successive growth within the ski industry, and the number of skiers reduced from one million in 2008/9 to 950000 last ski season.
Partly due to holiday makers giving their annual snowboarding vacation a miss, whilst additional holiday makers who’d ordinarily have two ski holidays, only had the one.
A fall of 15% was experienced by the independent travel sector with numerous low cost airlines slashing the number of their routes to some destinations.
However tour operators saw the reservations decreasing by around 15%.
Notwithstanding, the top six operators share remained at a healthy 73% and France remained the top destination with nearly 40% of the market.
Because of this a lot of operators lowered the amount of luxury chalets they rent this year.
Catered chalets in particular are going to witness a a drop in holiday makers as a luxury catered chalet costs more for the tour operator with regards to chefs and hosts and lease when it is unoccupied.
Therefore it is unlikely we will benefit from the last minute special offers which were available last winter.
Costs are probably going to to rise, costs are unlikely to rise much.
Next winter undoubtedly poses real challenges for an industry which is impacted by the results of the global recession, fall in the value of the pound, high costs of fuel and large fixed running costs for skiing businesses.
Next season vacationers will be more price sensitive, which shall lead to an about face of the last years that witnessed a increase in independent travel.
The big skiing operators could foreseeable recover the ground lost to the independent travel sector if they employ their buying-power to wrangle lower prices and give these savings to clients as irresistible offers.
