Ski bookings rise despite fall in no frills capacity

Friday, 12 Jul, 2005 0

The winter sports market rose 3.8% to 1.1 million passengers last year, despite a sharp drop in the number of no-frills flights to ski resorts.

Overall, there were 824,000 seats on no-frills flights, down 8% on the previous season. This was due largely to easyJet withdrawing services to Zurich.

Scheduled flights were also down slightly to just under 1.1 million, while charter seat availability rose 1% to 401,000.

“Despite the predictions from the pessimists, the ski market continues to grow,” said Crystal Holidays managing director Stuart McLeod, at the launch of the operator’s Ski Industry Report 2005. “The growth is fuelled by an increasing number of people looking for active holidays and growing concerns about being fit and healthy.”

Bulgaria enjoyed the sharpest increase in bookings during the season, accounting for 2.8% of the market, compared with 2.1% during 2003/04.

“It has low prices, so it is attracting entry-level skiers,” said McLeod.

Generally, the destinations chosen by holidaymakers for winter sports holidays last season were consistent with 2003/04. France, Switzerland, Italy and Andorra all recorded small falls, but France remained the most popular ski destination, taking 36.1% of skiers, down from 36.5% in 2004/05.

Bookings to Austria rose for the second year running and the country remains the UK’s second most popular ski destination, accounting for 20.1% of holidaymakers, up from 19.8% in 2003/04.

Italy remains in third place at 15.7%, down from 16%, with Andorra fourth at 13.7%, down from 13.8%. America and Canada bookings continued to grow, despite variable ski conditions during the season, and now make up 6% of the market compared with 5.8% the previous winter.

McLeod said he was disappointed by the decline in the number of bookings from the schools market. Schools accounted for 125,000 sales in 2004/05, compared with a peak of 550,000 in the early 1980s.

“There are capacity restraints because of the need to travel during half-term and school breaks,” he said. “Operators need to work with local authorities to get back to those levels we enjoyed in the 1980s.”

Report by Jeremy Skidmore