Ski industry fears warm spell will melt Easter profits

Despite exceptional cold this winter, the last thing the ski industry wants is a forecast for warmer weather. In most Swiss Alpine resorts the season still has six weeks left to run, but this week’s sunny conditions could encourage tourists to do something other than skiing.

Such a decision could be disastrous for the industry, which was left reeling by last year’s financial uncertainty that brought bookings to a halt well before the end of last season – despite an abundance of powder.

For the 2010 season to be a success, chalet operators, ski hire firms, ski schools and lift companies need to be operating at full capacity in the crucial holiday periods, namely Christmas/New Year, February and Easter.

Lower resorts below 1,800 metres suffered a difficult start to the season owing to mild and wet weather over the Christmas holidays.

Switzerland Tourism’s Véronique Kanel said that on the whole the ski industry had been “very lucky” so far this winter, thanks to good snow levels, but much hinged on the remainder of the season.

She added: “February is probably going to be a good month according to our figures, but it really depends on Easter. There’s still a lot of snow but the temperatures are rising quite dramatically and if it’s sunny, there’s a double-edged effect on bookings: people either decide to go to the lake, or come skiing. It’s so dependent on the weather.”

From the data available on Swiss resorts this February, only those in Valais and Grindelwald (BE) suffered falling occupancy rates, the latter experiencing a 5 percent drop compared with last season. Conversely, Lenzerheide (GR) and Haslital (BE) enjoyed a 2-4 percent increase in business.

Andrea Hass, of Grindelwald tourist office, attributed the loss of business to the weak British pound. Normally, Britons account for almost 20 percent of the resort’s visitors and are Switzerland’s second most important guests after Germans.

Hass added: “We will recover, they have promised to come back next year. We have quite a lot of snow and you can ski from 800 metres to 3,000 metres here.”

For Henri-Pierre Galletti, of the Champéry tourist office in the Portes du Soleil (VS), the sluggish start to the season that saw visitor numbers down by 10 percent has now stabilised, with figures up slightly for the resort in February.

He said: “It’s not been a bad season by any means; remember that the last two years were exceptional. Easter is looking good – it might be difficult to fill the resort just before and after the holidays, but there’s nothing unusual about that. We’ll be staying open for the pleasure of our loyal skiers, not necessarily to make money.”

If the weather plays a key role, then so too do last-minute bookings. Andy Castle, director of tour operator Ski In Luxury which handles 500 Alpine properties, said: “People are less twitchy about spending money now and it’s picked up because of that – last year started well but people stopped taking a second ski holiday at about this time because of the economic crunch and the slopes felt deserted."

"We’ve got good reductions and bargains in places like Verbier (VS), but that’s only because of the ever-expanding choice of chalets there, not because there’s a lack of confidence," he said.

"In smaller places, like Grimentz (VS), we’ve filled a chalet every week of the season. You can expect to pay from 10,500 francs upwards for a chalet for 10 people there,” he added.

It remains to be seen how much the cold weather and lack of sunshine affects turnover in Swiss resorts – though Switzerland Tourism is expecting the decrease to be “significant”.

But for Avoriaz Alpine Ski School director Ian McKellar, the cold – minus 25C at times – has helped business. “It’s been so cold for so long, so it’s nice to get some warm weather at last,” he said.

“But from the client’s point of view, it’s kept the snow good and it’s been easier to ski on, so it’s been leaving a good impression.”

In Verbier at least, there’s no hint of cost-cutting – yet. All Mountain Rental’s Kelvin Teague said: “People are still hiring top-end skis even if they’re beginners, which we would never advise, since the skis are tough to use. It’s all about people wanting to look good even if the gear’s harder to ski on.”