Anybody booking for 2021 yet?

A snowHead

At least there shouldn’t be much commercial traffic on New Year’s Day @ecureuil,

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Charliegolf, Aussois about 20min drive from Val Cennis

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@Charliegolf, https://www.aussois.ski/Intern

After all it is free

@thunderer, Brill ta.

"Some people use the term to mean somewhere close by that you can reach within a day's driving, which in the US can mean quite a distance away."

Surely a day's driving in any country can mean quite a distance away? Puzzled

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Calling the pandemic situation for Jan/Feb now is very difficult. Going purely by pattern of previous pandemics (and even usual flu years) it doesn't seem normal for cases to rise and stay at a steady high level throughout winter in northern climates but rather come and go over ~3 month bursts. So I'm expecting this wave to be well onto downslope by late Nov/early Dec but potentially returning again in 3rd wave in new year. The question being how traumatised society is and what the general government narrative around that is at that time as well as whether another uptick has already started . Think they'll be *very* cautious on Feb half term ski trips given the (rather mistaken to my mind) blame they received this year for igniting spread in Europe. If trips are perceived to be at all threatening our "success in bringing cases down" then the gov will fear the blowback and be extremely reserved in what they allow. Conversely, the French seem to keep playing with the idea of taking a more liberal approach, the Swiss have quite explicitly aligned more on a Swedish model, and the economic drivers in Austria are of course very strong to get something going. Really hope so, less for my own trip which I'm ready to write off, but for family and friends I know whose livelihoods depend on it.

You know it makes sense.

@sheffskibod,
Bump the trip to next year and book last minute for this year if skiing becomes viable. Keeps your options open.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@johnE, I think it was obvious what he meant. Seems like good advice.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I have nothing booked (usually 2 x solo/friends weeks and 2 x family weeks booked or planned by now). If the stars align and I don't have to quarantine more than a week on the way home, I'll jump last minute. Otherwise, I think that Easter is looking like to only family trip with potential and I will try for a couple of weeks somewhere high in France.

Xmas and half-term are notoriously busy, even if the areas are open. Any restrictions will make school holiday trips painful (lunch on the mountain?!) and they are expensive enough in a good year.

I completely agree with the moral question about going skiing whilst there is a pandemic going on. Sure, businesses in ski areas have to earn a living but travelling to another country for a bit of a jolly is definitely 'unnecessary travel'....... I really want to go though and have everything crossed that I can get on the snow this season.

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I’ve optimistically booked Eurotunnel for Easter

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yip, mystic meg told me that easter will be fine so we booked VT for family Easter trip, staying in Orelle. Booked trough the tourist office with good cancellation terms. Driving from Ireland, usually go feb half term but changed to later. French school hols not until 10 april so hopefully wont be too rammed. All quarantine will be lifted by then anyway she said!

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@Michelle63, is that the Champ du Moulin by any chance? We have had a few summers and one winter trip there in our MH. Great spot and lovely friendly owners.

After all it is free

@Klamm Franzer,

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I have sent request for my deposit to be returned for the accommodation over Christmas in Austria. When we booked and I brought it up we were told we could get refund upto 14days before travel. With the Austria lockdown not scheduled to be lifted until inside that 14days, the U.K. FCDO advice won’t be changing until after that, so can’t now risk it. Sad

I still have flights booked for Easter.

Wonder if EasyJet will be cancelling those flights or if I will need to reschedule for some other time ahead of rescheduling again for 2021/22 season.

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We still have our Snowbombing trip booked which was carried over from last year. Surprisingly they are still selling tickets but have promised a refund or another transfer to 2022.

To be honest I'd be happy to go without the festival part.

I'm going to leave booking the flights until the last minute as Lufthansa were a total nightmare when it came to getting a refund.

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Part of my reason for booking Easter is that, while it is traditionally off-season for skiing, given likely compressed nature of season it may get very busy!!!

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@sheffskibod, +1.
Safe and smart. It's a world in pandemic. That shall pass, but for the meantime I find myself totally off the mountains.

A snowHead

OP here.
I went ahead and booked Zell Am See for Mid March. Cheap flights with amendments if required. Free cancelation on hotel. Ski passes will
book out there.

Anybody booking Austria for next year?

A snowHead

Still sticking with the plan. I much prefer January skiing and its pretty clear that even if its possible its going to be a stress-fest and not a holiday. If the weather holds cold into spring I might be tempted but also if the virus situation improves markedly it'll be holiday period busy every week and likely expensive too.

So, Its January 2022 I'm thinking of now. I just wonder how much more expensive than last January it's going to be.

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I personally know nine separate groups of people, including several families with children, who have booked to go skiing to Saalbach during January and February. All British, and all apparently adopting an optimistic "wait and see" approach. That doesn't include the several holiday home owners, who are planning to arrive in late November or early December.

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I have a holiday to alpe d'huez booked for late January, and have adopted a strict policy of denial that anythings wrong, seems to be working, I'd highly recommend it, denial really takes the worry out of things! Very Happy

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Austria's Minister of Tourism on the winter season
"I'm not at all afraid of being infected there"
When can the ski lifts start up again? Angela Merkel calls for the winter sports areas to be closed. Austria's Minister of Tourism, Elisabeth Köstinger, doesn't think so - the vacation in her country is safe.
An interview by Claus Hecking • November 27, 2020, 1:17 a.m.

SPIEGEL: Minister, you and your Chancellor Sebastian Kurz promised in September that there would be "skiing fun" this winter. Would you still say that despite soaring infection numbers and a new lockdown with curfews, schools and business closings?

Elisabeth Köstinger: We will do everything we can to ensure that the number of infections falls and that a winter holiday in Austria is possible. I assume that we can do this with a joint effort. Tourism is indispensable for all of Austria, especially for the rural regions. And we showed in the summer: Holidays in Austria are safe.

SPIEGEL: Chancellor Angela Merkel has doubts about that. She calls for the Europe-wide closure of all ski areas.

Köstinger: I can't get anything out of this approach. That is also not a European responsibility. I don't know on what legal basis the EU should order the closure of ski areas. Apart from that, Austria is taking all measures to enable safe holidays. You don't get the virus on the slopes, but when you party afterwards. That's why there won't be any après-ski this year.

SPIEGEL: How do you want to ensure that a skiing holiday in Austria is safe?

Köstinger: By eliminating all sources of danger. There are comprehensive concepts for the winter season that guarantee this security. Our Ministry of Health has carried out detailed cluster analyzes of previous infections. In the hotel and catering industry, the incidence of infections was very low. Most cases occur where people know each other well: in the family environment and in the leisure sector. We also have the largest free trial program for hotel and tourism employees in Europe . More than 500,000 tests have now been carried out. Before Christmas we will test the population all over Austria.

SPIEGEL: But last March, thousands of ski tourists in Austria were infected with the virus. You can't afford a second Ischgl .

Köstinger: We couldn't afford the first Ischgl either. But we all learned something new in dealing with the corona pandemic.

"The situation in gondolas is no different from that in a subway or tram."
SPIEGEL: What if the neighbor coughs in the gondola or in the bubble chair lift?

Köstinger: 85 percent of all lifts are open anyway, in the fresh air. The covers of the chairlifts are partly removed, partly they cannot be closed. And wearing mouth and nose protection is mandatory in all lifts. The situation in gondolas is no different than in a subway or tram. The operators are instructed to always ensure fresh air supply. And there is no cable car in Austria that takes longer than 15 minutes to travel. The risk of infection is low.

SPIEGEL: Images recently went through the social networks. In Austrian ski areas such as the Zillertal or Kaunertal glacier, they showed crowds of tourists crowding in front of cable car stations.

Köstinger: These pictures from the Zillertal and Kaunertal were catastrophic. We held intensive discussions with the cable car operators so that this would not happen again. The operators have comprehensive prevention concepts that they also implement. There are floor markings and disinfectant dispensers everywhere at the entry and exit points. And on the following weekend, these scenes no longer existed: because the health authorities and the police took over control on site. The cable car companies learned quickly - and so did the skiers. We trust that after nine months of the pandemic, people will have internalized the rules.

SPIEGEL: But what if some don't follow the rules?

Köstinger: Every cable car company has its Corona officer. There will be security services at critical points, and police or cable car employees will also take over supervision.

SPIEGEL: How should that work with food - in deep winter, in closed rooms?

Köstinger: With 50 or more guests, every company has to present a prevention concept. These include: regular ventilation, sufficient space, strict rules at the buffet. Employees and guests must wear mouth and nose protection and guests are only allowed to take off their masks at the table.

SPIEGEL: Then they can still infect each other.
Köstinger: You can do that in other places within your group. Personal responsibility is required here. Our concept prevents the different groups from infecting each other. You know: in the summer we had an eruption on Lake Wolfgang. This cluster mainly affected young employees. It was able to be completely contained within a very short time without many visitors being infected. We carried out thousands of tests on site - and had extremely fast contact person management. That worked extremely well.

SPIEGEL: What have you prepared in case there is an outbreak in a ski resort?

Köstinger: If guests need health care, it will of course be made available to them anyway. The tourist regions have agreed on a system of "safe houses" for milder developments. That means: Special accommodations are provided in which the corona infected are accommodated. They can no longer infect each other. This is how we ensure maximum security for everyone involved. In consultation with the German health authorities, infected people can also be brought home without symptoms.

SPIEGEL: The restaurateurs have invested a lot of time and money in their new concepts. Nevertheless, they had to close in early November, in the second lockdown.

Köstinger: My heart bleeds that we had to close the catering and hotel tourism business even though they did everything to create maximum security. But we had to restrict contacts, and the exit restrictions from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. are taking a large part of its business away from the catering trade. It was important to me to compensate the companies as much as possible for the failures. We replace them up to 80 percent of their turnover. And the strict measures now open up prospects for the winter season.

SPIEGEL: But what if the season is cancelled or starts late, as the governments of Germany, France and Italy are calling for?

Köstinger : We don't give France any advice as to when it can open the Louvre again. Nor do we prescribe in Italy or Germany when cafes, restaurants or schools can reopen. Each country should make its own decision based on its infection rate. The EU Commission has now made it clear that it does not intend to regulate this across Europe.

SPIEGEL: What do you do if the number of infections does rise again in January after the lockdown is lifted?

Köstinger: It is clear that we will have to prepare for tough, difficult months, not just in Austria, but throughout Europe. We will do everything we can to ensure that the number of infections remains down - with strict hygiene concepts and more personnel.

SPIEGEL: How much tourism do you expect this winter?

Köstinger: We now expect a slump of up to 50 percent compared to normal years. That's a problem. The hotel industry in Austria has only eight percent equity base.

SPIEGEL: How do you intend to prevent companies from going bankrupt en masse?

Köstinger: We provide guarantees for loans, hourly taxes, offer fixed cost subsidies, and short-time work for employees. We have reduced the sales tax for restaurants and hotels to five percent. And we offer the companies a reimbursement of 80 percent of the turnover compared to the same period in 2019. In the holiday hotel industry, the majority of the companies will make it: with massive support from the state. How big the support has to be depends on the number of visitors.

SPIEGEL: What does it depend on how many guests come?

"The risk of getting infected in a hotel in Hamburg is no smaller or greater than in a hotel in Serfaus."

Köstinger: Almost half of the visitors come from Germany. The quarantine requirement for returnees from Austria currently applies there. The greatest risk of infection comes from acquaintances - not from the hotel industry, where people wear masks and keep their distance. The risk of getting infected in a hotel in Hamburg is no smaller or greater than in a hotel in Serfaus in Tyrol . In my opinion, it would be key here to enable the most free. That means: If you come from Austria, a negative PCR test should be sufficient and you don't have to be in quarantine for days.

SPIEGEL: Virologists would disagree: In some patients in the early stages, the tests show no infection. Do you expect the German authorities to be convinced of your argument?

Köstinger: I believe that we need to deal with the corona pandemic differently. Of course, measures such as wearing mouth and nose protection, keeping your distance and maintaining hygiene are necessary. But I believe that quick tests will be a real game changer. We use them to filter out super spreaders very quickly. You know, we are the only country in the world that regularly tests employees in the hotel and catering industry. In the summer, we were able to isolate employees who tested positive very quickly, and the virus did not spread.

SPIEGEL: Will you go skiing yourself this coming winter?

Köstinger: Definitely . I'm not at all afraid of getting infected there. Distance, mouth and nose protection and hygiene concepts ensure maximum safety; there is no après-ski. And you don't get the virus out skiing. I'm looking forward to skiing fun.

After all it is free

The voice of reason, TBH what is the difference in taking the tube or train journey & a lot of skiers already wear a face mask. Toofy Grin

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Help!!

Anybody booking for 2021 yet?

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