Tailor-made ski specialist, Ski Solutions, said it was heading for "one of its strongest seasons yet" with revenue generated over the summer and into the peak booking season 51% ahead of the same period in 2021, and 23% ahead of 2019, despite the economic downturn.
"Snow-sure" resorts in the Alps such as Val dIsere, Val Thorens and Verbier are in high demand, said the operator, along with Whistler in Canada and family-friendly options in places like Norway offering good value.
Despite prices increases of around 15% compared with 2019, the company said it had not seen demand for its core four- and five-star premium packages dip, or any trend towards lower-grade destinations.
Ski Solutions said it was also benefiting from renewed confidence in air travel, with new data from Cirium showing how scheduled departures from the UK this December are projected to reach 83% of 2019 levels. Flights from UK airports this December are up 35% on December 2021, with more than 65,000 planned departures during this month.
Flights from the UK to Switzerland are projected to reach 94% of 2019 levels, with services to one of Europe’s main ski gateways – Geneva – expecting 4.1% more flights this December than it had in 2019.
Craig Burton, managing director of Ski Solutions, said: “After a couple of seasons of unpredictability for the ski industry throughout the pandemic, we’re thrilled to see the demand for ski holidays this winter exceeding pre-pandemic levels with booking revenues up 23% compared to this time in 2019. This is reassurance that this winter is going to be one of the strongest seasons we’ve seen yet."
Burton continued: "Our bookings team has seen huge demand for some of the familiar favourite resorts such as Val d’Isere and Whistler, but also some of the lesser-discovered alternative options including new resorts that have been added to our portfolio in Norway."
Flights from the UK to Austria are on course to reach 91% of December 2019 levels, with Innsbruck and Salzburg both seeing 24% more UK flights than they did pre-pandemic, while Klagenfurt is poised to see a 200% increase in UK flights this December versus 2019.
While flights from the UK to France have so far only recovered to 74% of 2019 levels, Grenoble – which serves the French Alps – has seen a 4% rise in departures compared to December 2019, while the alpine airport of Chambery has returned to pre-pandemic frequencies. Lyon, though, is expected to see a drop of 11% in flights.
Northern Italy has also showed growth, with flights from the UK to Turin and Verona up 12% and 5% respectively. Flights to Milan Malpensa and Bergamo, another ski gateway, are also around the same levels as recorded in December 2019.
