 Poster: A snowHead
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The Crystal Ski Industry Report is published later today and is expected to show what many in the industry already know; the market has fallen once again.
The season of 2010/11 was not exactly a bumper one.
It got off to a good start with some decent early season snow falls in December and then in many resorts not a flake fell for two months.
But the real reason the season was not bumper was not the snow, but rather the economic situation. Many people decided not to go skiing and decided to cutback on a winter break rather than a summer one.
Some resorts saw a sharp fall in British visitors and many of those that did make it to the Alps cut back on their spending when out there.
In 2008/09 the market fell by 13% and in 2009/10 it went down by 11%. Here at PlanetSKI we predict the fall will be less for last season but there will still be an overall decline.
France is expected to be the market leader but once again the country's share of the market will probably have fallen as people perceive it as being more expensive then say Austria or Italy.
Switzerland will be lucky if it holds steady at 6% of the market as the poor exchange rate has led many people to look elsewhere.
The schools and children's market will undoubtedly be down too, but that is as much to do with a late Easter holiday period.
On the bright side though the tour operators will undoubtedly claim success as their market share is expected to increase.
Many people now opt for a package holiday rather than a DIY break. |
http://www.planetski.eu/news/2924
I concur with
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But the real reason the season was not bumper was not the snow, but rather the economic situation. Many people decided not to go skiing and decided to cutback on a winter break rather than a summer one.
Some resorts saw a sharp fall in British visitors and many of those that did make it to the Alps cut back on their spending when out there.
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That's what we felt although the season, we had snow but economic doom put a big dent in it as the the reports of "no snow in the Alps"
I would also say France should not be perceived as more expensive but that it actually is.
What does this mean for the next season as I feel the economic climate has got worst and not better?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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For me next season it means cheap skiing at the PSB, Serre Chevalier for the SOPiB12, no Wengen, and maybe nothing else.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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What does this mean for the next season
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the big TOs are already privately deeming it poor. Only great snow can save it but that means people waiting for deals.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Figures just released show the market fell by 5% and is now at its lowest level for over a decade. The economic situation, a late Easter and patchy snow conditions are to blame. The industry is putting on a brave face.
The figures come from The Crystal Ski Industry Report that was published today. It claims the overall decline was 5% and follows a steady fall from a high in 2007/08.
Then 1.2m British people went skiing; that figure has now fallen to 910,900.
The sharpest fall came in the independent sector that went down 8.2%. In part that was caused by increasing travel charges (flights and ski carriage) but also because the tour operators have made a concerted fightback in recent years and are able to offer considerable savings and discounts. |
http://www.planetski.eu/news/2923
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I see Inghams this year have quite a few new Chalet Hotels on offer - a departure from their normal accommodation and one that offers reasonably priced accommodation with 'hotel-like' facilities. I assume they're hoping to attract more custom - they're a good bit cheaper than hotels in the area. In fact we shall probably stay in one next season 
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cathy, I also know of a chalet company that is expanding, buying up a failed competitor.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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One of the things that is very obvious, perusing the coming season's offerings (and following on from last year's), is how the major TOs have drastically scaled back their Canadian offerings, not just accomodation but pulling out of complete hills in many cases.
I guess if you struggle to sell Euro trips, Canadian ones must be a nightmare to shift.
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Kuoni no longer offer Switzerland for skiing which is a shame. I assume exchange rate probably hit demand to such an extent that a ski offering was not worth the effort - and that from a company with no reps in resort and presumably low overheads.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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froma retail point of view a lot of shops were way up september -december (20-40% UP) and bought a load more stock assuming that it would continue..... WHY would any business consider that they would sell 40% more boots or skis than they did the previous year...10-15% more maybe, possibly a bit more than that if there was something special going on, but a 40% rise for no reason!!!!
there could be a few great deals going over the summer from various shops, we have a few boots to shift at cheap prices but not too much left..only because i didn't fall into the buy more stock in trap (phew!!)
the next 12 months is going to be tough out there in retail land and there will no doubt be a few more casualties to come over the summer
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Until sterling recovers at least a bit against the Euro/CHF I can see the UK industry continuing to struggle. Even if people preserve their desire to take foreign holidays (& I think many people are now conditioned to this as part of a basic standard of living, unlike previous generations) there are obvious reasons why ski holidays may not be the best use of this budget. Looking at a Fall Line gear guide from a couple of years ago kit is noticeably more expensive. A poor snow season would be the clincher, any reports of crappy conditions at Xmas and I'd imagine lots of punters will write off the rest of the winter.
My contribution to the independent sector certainly dipped , I just couldn't be bothered taking a couple of flights I'd booked as conditions looked so uninspiring.
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> British ski industry set for fall
Oi! Scotland just had 3 good seasons on the bounce 
Good snow and almost 300 000 skier days last winter.
The title should read British T.O's set for a fall.
Not surprising... As the £ is obviously currently so weak.
This is a double whammy.
- Skiers less likely to holiday abroad (or less frequently) due to higher costs.
- Margins for the TOs, whose income is in £, are seriously squeezed. Primarily due to higher cost / rent which are paid in Euro & CHF.
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You know it makes sense.
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| fatbob wrote: |
My contribution to the independent sector certainly dipped , I just couldn't be bothered taking a couple of flights I'd booked as conditions looked so uninspiring. |
I think this is a multi trip attitude in that if you only had one ski holiday a year you would take it even if conditions are bad.
Which is my other point that right up to the last 2/3 weeks of the season the conditions were not bad.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Dwarf Vader, fair enough, all I had to throw away was the relatively low cost of a return flight (before I'd booked baggage) but if it had been my only opportunity to ski all winter I'd have leapt at it. But if I had only 1 week a year I'd be even fussier about ensuring that conditions would be halfway decent so that would definitely mean late booking.
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Poster: A snowHead
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