Strengthening Pound Wipes Out Ticket Price Rises In Eurozone (06-Nov-10)

Initial findings from an annual survey of lift ticket prices carried out by ski resort research business Snow24 has found...

Strengthening Pound Wipes Out Ticket Price Rises In Eurozone

Initial findings from an annual survey of lift ticket prices carried out by ski resort research business Snow24 has found prices for lift tickets in the Euro-zone currently costing a few pounds less for a six day ticket for Brits than last year.

“The situation changes daily, and it’s marginal, but while we’re seeing most six day lift tickets rising 3 – 5 Euros, the slightly stronger pound-to-Euro exchange rate usually means passes actually cost a few pounds less than last winter.” said Patrick Thorne of Snow24.

Unfortunately it’s not the same story in Switzerland or the USA where prices currently appear about 5% higher than a year ago because of exchange rate fluctuations. However Swiss prices continue to offer some of the best value for families with many leading resorts offering free skiing to age 9 and half price passes to age 16 or 18, better than any other European country. Canada and Scotland have similar pricing models. In many cases more expensive North American lift ticket prices can be cancelled out by buying an inclusive accommodation and lift ticket package direct from the resort of through a specialist tour operator in the UK.

Snow24 have so far collated prices from 400 ski areas in 26 countries for the coming 2010-11 season.

One trend the company identified was a growing number of European ski areas offering ticket discounts if passes are purchased online in advance,

Les 2 Alpes is one of several examples where special offer prices for regular tickets appear for limited periods daily.

Patrick Thorne www.skiinfo.co.uk