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« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » How Bad Was It For Euros Crossing The Pond To Ski? How Good Might It Be?By Patrick Thorne 
Still, European-based tour operators straw-polled by The Industry Report claimed business held up, thanks in part to a large number of early bookings taken before all the turmoil began. We should add they weren't exactly keen on providing real numbers ("We're still looking at the final numbers, but one thing is for sure, we didn't increase our sales to North America," is a typical comment, along with, "Not as good as the heady heights of 2007-08 but still a successful season.") What lies ahead for the coming winter season? We can report the early booking deals are out there for the picking. So far, at least, there's some price stability as the British pound is slowly regaining ground against the U.S. dollar. It recently rebounded to a six-month high. The downside is some operators have been forced to cut capacity and European skiers and boarders remain nervous about committing. European tour operators are reporting bookings to North America down from this time last year, although they're not saying by how much. Traditionally, a sizable percentage of trans-Atlantic ski bookings are made up to a year ahead. But tradition has sailed out of the window after the wild economic fluctuations of the past year. More skiers than ever decide where to go closer to their departure date these days. This appears to be true even for long haul flights, depending on deals available, snow conditions, and their personal circumstances. "2009-10 will be a later booking season than last year as we see caution over the uncertainty in the economy." Michael Bennett, Managing Director of Edinburgh-based Ski Independence told the IR. "However, as some other operators cut capacity it will mean those waiting for a last minute deal will be disappointed, especially over peak travel dates. We are seeing the best-ever early booking offers in our programme and this should help stimulate demand." Typical of the early offers and the efforts by North American resorts to boost European sales are those of Vail Resorts. "We are seeking to stimulate the market, for example, until August 1, we are offering our owned and operated properties in Breckenridge - the Great Divide Lodge, Village at Breckenridge, Mountain Thunder Lodge, and the Breckenridge Mountain Lodge at up to 50 percent off last year's prices and the planned prices for the coming season. I think this is the first time that we have had such good offers out so early in the booking cycle and these deals are available from all tour operators." said Roger Ainger, UK spokesman for Vail Resorts. One result of the economic turmoil is a switch in destinations of choice for some operators, and despite the very strong U.S. dollar to a very weak British pound, Ski Independence saw the number of skiers heading to the U.S. grow at the expense of Canada. That reversed a four-year trend in the other direction. "Some resorts in the USA fared very well with Winter Park and Copper experiencing very strong growth. Whistler continued to top the list and accounts for almost 35 percent of all of our North American ski sales." said Bennett of Ski Independence. Craig Burton with Ski Solutions, his specialist travel agency, said Whistler lost ground in terms of bookings. "Overall, we were pretty flat year on year from a passenger volume and bed night perspective to North America. Our clients still travelled across the pond, but we saw strong evidence of 'trading down' in terms of their budget. This was reflected in their choice of destination, with Banff/Lake Louise our big winner - up over 100 percent year on year, making it our top North American resort for the first time in terms of passenger numbers. This was principally driven by cut-price packages utilizing charter flying into Calgary." Exactly where the capacity cut backs are going to fall is yet to become clear with the largest operators still to make their final announcements for 2009-10. The main program launches will come in July. "For 2009-10, we are keeping all flight routes as per last winter. However, we are no longer going to use the charter flight to Calgary and we will use scheduled carriers for all our accommodation in North America," said Marion Telsnig, media relations manager for TUI Ski which runs three of the UK's biggest tour operator brands. But one of those companies, First Choice, is perhaps bucking the trend by adding new Canadian and U.S. choices to its program. Breckenridge is new in the U.S. for First Choice and, in Canada, the company will offer Banff, Lake Louise, and Whistler. "The trading outlook for winter 09-10 remains relatively weak, though aggressive pricing from hoteliers and airlines, together with a steadily weakening dollar, is resulting in some excellent early season pricing. The challenge is getting the UK skiing public to commit upfront," Ski Solutions' Burton summed up. What It Means: Ski season is indeed six months away and it appears there is at least some stability seeping into the economies of both Europe and North America, though we won't hold our breath quite yet. The real dilemma perhaps is less the financial challenges that European skiers and riders face, but more one of making them believe it's a good idea to get their North American ski holiday secured now. « Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » |
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