Those ski holiday companies that are already selling holidays for next winter are reporting very strong demand a year ahead, with some saying advance bookings for peak dates are the strongest ever, this far ahead. Others are predicting their sales for next winter will hit all-time highs.
“Ski Solutions had a successful start to the season which saw booking revenues up 23% compared to 2019, and they predict that next season will be their biggest on record, with sales exceeding all pre-covid comparisons,” a statement on behalf of the travel agency this week claimed.
Similar reports are coming in from many other ski companies too.
“Enquiries for chalets for the 2023/ 24 season started in November 2022 and have remained consistently strong since then. And it would seem that people are not just browsing; The Chalet Company sales are up over 80% year-on-year compared to January 2022!” a spokesperson for The Chalet Company said, saying part of the reason could be, an, “…ever-decreasing pool of providers of catered chalets.”
At the top end of the market similarly the Oxford Skiing Company report, “…unusual pressure on availability and high enquiry volumes for peak dates next season (specifically Christmas and New Year).”
But it’s not just chalets, there’s change across the ski holiday industry it seems,
“It’s true, next-season bookings are very up on normal. Suppliers are now massively more organised, at getting next season on sale early, after having to make those sales during the covid year without ski holidays,” explains Richard Sinclair of ski holiday specialists sno.co.uk
There are a variety of factors at play it seems.
“Poor snow early Jan on top of the recession/energy/crunch made some people decide to wait to next winter, but they still wanted to get something booked / in the diary,” adds Richard Sinclair.
Cathy Rankin of Pierre and Vacances agrees, but says travel dates are kinder on families next winter too, “Historically when there is a poor snow Christmas, early sales for the Christmas/New Year period tend to be slower until the first early snowfalls. To counter this the calendar is kinder on travellers with Christmas and New Year’s Day on Monday. The week commencing 16 Dec will offer those who break up early some bargains because most of Europe is not on holiday until 23 December.”
There is also a chunk of the skiing population who missed out on preferred accommodation on peak dates this winter who are now booking early for next, according to Andy Sturt, Owner and Managing Director of VIP SKI, who says,
“This season, many skiers have already booked peak dates during the key UK holidays. Skiers are getting ahead of the crowd and booking now to get the best rates for winter 2023/2024 before costs rise further in the new global economy.”
And some skiers are also concerned about price rises due to the energy crisis next year, “Inflation in Europe is lower than the UK, but operational costs in the mountains, which have a heavy reliance on energy and staff, have been impacted more than the average so expect average prices to increase around the 10% mark,” warns Cathy Rankin.
While some ski companies already have 23-24 holidays on sale, others don’t yet, but are moving to meet demand.
“Skiing is a mature market, many British skiers know when they want to go, they often also have a fairly good idea of `where’, helped by the mass of information online, in print and from ski operators, so it’s then a matter of final choice of hotel or chalet. After such a busy season this year, with value rather than price uppermost, many clients don’t want to risk second or third choice. It makes sense for them to book their preferred choice as soon as the next season’s offer is launched. We already have hundreds of skiers waiting for us to confirm bookings for 2023-24, and the Ski Beat programme will be live within a few days,” says Laura Hazell, Sales & Marketing Director, Ski Beat.
“The biggest winners in the market are still all-inclusive, as customers want to lock-in the total price in GBP before they go, rather than risk a weak pound and expensive ski resort prices once they arrive,” concludes Richard Sinclair.
(Image top; SkiWelt, Tirol)
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