Ski lift for chalets

That’s the prediction of Andy Perrin, who heads the ski programmes at Inghams, Ski Total and Esprit. He believes the weak pound and threat of swingeing job cuts in both the public and private sectors will make skiers more careful than ever when they book winter breaks in the next few months.

Skiers want packages where as much as possible, even wine with dinner, is paid for in advance with pounds. That’s why chalets and chalet hotels are expected to do so well.

“Around 40 per cent of the market is looking for catered chalet accommodation,” says Perrin. “To meet that demand, we have revolutionised the Inghams brochure, adding 42 new chalets and chalet hotels – in addition to the existing hotel portfolio.”

The new additions are all in high altitude resorts like Zermatt, Cervinia, St Anton and Courchevel 1850.

To ensure that more of its holidays are high altitude, Inghams has added nine new resorts to its programme – Stowe, New England and the rest in Europe – high enough for guaranteed snow.

Perrin was speaking as The Crystal Industry Ski Report showed a big switch back to packages with operators last winter and a corresponding fall in the number of independent travellers to the slopes.

The report says seven operators have an 85 per cent share of the ski packages market, as some 911,000 skiers travelled abroad in 2010/11.

France was the top destination for British skiers with a 32.5 per cent market share. Austria slightly increased its share to 26.7 per cent, while Italy maintained its share around 14.1 per cent.

Andorra saw a small rise from 6 per cent to 6.4 per cent, Switzerland held firm on 6 per cent while America’s 4.6 per cent share represented a small fall, caused largely by additional flight costs and an increase in long-haul Air Passenger Duty (APD) hitting operators. Bulgaria advanced slightly to 4 per cent because of bargain basement prices.

The Crystal Ski Report predicts the 2011/12 ski season will almost certainly be better than last winter, when bookings were hit by a “Perfect Storm”combination of a late Easter, extra public holidays around the Royal wedding creating “sunshine spring holidays”, and below-average snowfall in the Alps late in the season.