Italy’s Cervinia is lowest priced ‘leading’ ski resort

UK skiers should benefit from better value in Europe this winter, thanks to a sterling recovery against 2009’s rock bottom exchange rates. In its fourth annual Where to Ski Resort Report, now produced in conjunction with the leading winter sports resort guide Where to Ski and Snowboard, Post Office Travel Money has named Italy’s Cervinia as cheapest in its survey of the world’s top ski resorts. Meanwhile Romania leads a trio of Eastern European destinations offering the ‘best value’ budget resorts.

Exchange rates will play a key role this season, suggests Post Office Travel Money. Eurozone skiers will have almost eight per cent more cash in their pockets than in 2009 if sterling continues to hold its value¹ and the same applies to skiers visiting Bulgaria (+5.2 per cent) or Romania (+8.2 per cent). But a 6.3 per cent strengthening of the Swiss franc means those heading for the Swiss Alps will need to dig deeper.

Transatlantic trips will also come at a higher premium this winter as sterling’s weakness against the Canadian dollar (-8.1 per cent) will make the Rocky Mountain resorts of Whistler and Banff more expensive. But not as expensive as the USA’s Vail and Big Sky resorts, highest priced in the survey, where higher ski equipment and lift pass costs could put Colorado and Montana beyond many UK pockets.

Sarah Munro, Post Office Head of Travel Money, said: "Since 2008 when the euro began to dominate the UK pound, the numbers taking a skiing holiday have slid almost 25 per cent to under a million, the lowest in a decade.² Ski companies may be optimistic that the coming season will be a turning point but skiers should watch exchange rates carefully as these will make a big difference to the cost of a ski holiday. There is no escaping the fact that eurozone skiers will benefit from better exchange rates while those visiting Swiss resorts will have to fork out more."

Best value in the world’s leading ski resorts:

For the first time this year, Post Office Travel Money compared the cost of premium skiing in the top six destinations worldwide: Austria, Canada, France, Italy, Switzerland and the USA. It analysed prices gathered by the Where to Ski and Snowboard team in each of the top skiing countries, focusing on one world-class resort each, chosen by the guide’s editors. Italy emerged as the cheapest by some distance.

At £415.79 for ski holiday costs comprising a lift pass, equipment hire and one hour’s private lesson together with living costs including an evening meal and drinks, the Italian resort of Cervinia was 26.3 per cent cheaper than Zermatt in Switzerland, the most expensive in Europe (£563.91) and Vail, the highest priced overall (£699.96).

Chris Gill, Co-Editor of Where to Ski and Snowboard, said: "Italy’s winning position was helped by the fact that drinks prices have drifted down this year while its’ costs for major ski items are traditionally lower than in Austria, France and Switzerland. We also noted a downward trend in Austrian meal prices which has made the country more competitive with France, where feedback from our readers suggests that restaurateurs have not passed on the VAT rate cut made by the French Government."

Romania is best value for budget skiing:

Romania (Poiana Brasov) retained its top spot in the Ski Resort Report table of 12 budget ski destinations. At £259.53 for ski holiday costs, Romania was six per cent cheaper than runner-up Bulgaria (Bansko) where the sterling exchange rate and lower resort costs led to a 20 per cent year-on-year price fall. Slovenia’s low-priced Kanin resort completed an East European 1-2-3 at the top of the Post Office chart.

Echoing the findings of the leading ski resorts research, Canada (Banff) and the USA (Big Sky, Montana) rated as most expensive in the budget skiing survey at £899.30 and £936.53 respectively - well over three-times the price in Romania.

The Post Office again found wide variations in charges across eurozone ski resorts. Serre Chevalier in the French Alps was highest-priced at £620.27 for the basket of items, which substituted ski school (5/6 days) for the private lesson used in the leading resorts survey. The French total was almost twice the price in Slovenia and 42 per cent higher than in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Skiers can purchase euros at over 8,500 Post Office bureau de change branches this winter, while currencies for other ski destinations featured in the Where to Ski Resort Report, including the Swiss franc, Canadian dollar and Bulgarian lev, are available on demand at over 1,600 branches. An additional 2,600 branches stock US dollars while skiers needing Romanian leu can pre-order these for collection or home delivery at all 12,000 Post Office branches or online at postoffice.co.uk. A range of winter sports travel insurance policies are also on offer at postoffice.co.uk.