lastminute.com smashes ski bookings

Adventurous skiers are heading to emerging ski destinations this season with Bulgaria and Austria leading the way, says online leading travel and leisure retailer lastminute.com.

With many destinations experiencing record snow falls this winter many low altitude destinations have opened the pistes and lifts this year. And it’s set to be one of the best seasons on record.

lastminute.com has registered a 25% increase year on year in ski holiday bookings with a peak period in February. The most popular departure dates for skiers this year are 2 February and 9 February.

Smaller European ski resorts are hugely benefitting from the exceptional snow conditions this year, and ever-confident Britons are hitting the undiscovered slopes. As a result, Bulgaria has performed exceptionally this season with a massive year on year increase of 247%.

As a result, resorts such as Borovets and Pamporovo are now amongst lastminute.com’s best sellers.

Other destinations benefitting from this trend include Austria’s Zell am See, up 71% year on year, St Anton, up 212% and Kitzbuhel up an outstanding 1812%. The Spanish resort of Baqueira Berets in the Basque Country was sold for the first time by the online retailer this year and recorded numerous bookings.

John Bevan, Managing Director of lastminute.com in the UK commented “2007 is proving to be an exceptional season for Ski holidays. It’s fantastic to see up and coming resorts having such a great year. These resorts have made skiing accessible to more holidaymakers offering a wider variety of choice. As a keen skier, I myself will be heading to these new destinations before the season is over.”