Thanks to the Credit Crunch Several Ski Companies Are Slashing Their Number of Luxury Catered Ski Chalets
Due to the global recession snowboarding occupancies dropped last snowboarding season.
This is even with acceptable early bookings and first class skiing conditions.
These reductions in numbers follows on from seven years of continuous growth in the snowboarding industry, and the numbers contracted from 1.05 million two winters ago to less than a million last ski season.
This is partly due to vacationers giving the season a miss, while additional holiday makers who would typically take 2 ski breaks, merely took the one.
Sales for the independent travel sector fell by 15% and a handful low priced airlines reducing the amount of airplanes to certain airports.
Tour operators also saw their numbers decreasing by about the same amount.
Still, the top operators share of the market rested at just over a healthy 70% with ski chalets France remaining the most popular destination with around 37% of holidays.
Because of this several ski operators reduced the amount of ski chalets they rent this year.
The catered chalet markets will surely witness a reduction in vacationers due to the fact that a catered ski chalet costs more for the tour operator with regards to chefs and hosts and rent when it is unsold.
Therefore it is unlikely that we will find the special offers which were around last season.
And prices are expected to go up, they probably won’t increase considerably.
This season undoubtedly poses grievous problems for the ski industry that is touched by by the events of the down turn, exchange rate pressures, increased costs of fuel as well as high fixed running costs for snowboarding companies.
This winter vacationers will become progressively price aware, which shall add to an about face of the recent years which saw a development in the ski industry.
The large tour operators might recover some of the customers lost to the independent sector if they employ their purchasing power to get lower costs and pass these onto clients as appealing packages.
