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‘UK airport testing is the only thing that can save ski holidays’

passo tonale skier - andre zampatti
passo tonale skier - andre zampatti
LOGO: Test4Travel
LOGO: Test4Travel

Ski industry bosses join the call for airport testing in order to get skiers back on the slopes this winter and save thousands of jobs

With less than four months until the annual ski season is due to kick off, industry experts are calling on the Government to act fast in order to save ski holidays in support of Telegraph Travel’s Test4Travel campaign.

The new initiative urges the Government to roll out affordable Covid-19 tests on arrivals at all UK airports and ports, by Christmas – meaning ski holidays could be among the first to be back in business.

“UK airport testing is the only thing that can save ski holidays and the ski industry this winter,” said Richard Sinclair, from ski travel agent SNO.

“Without a smarter, more granular approach than blanket quarantines, most skiers will not have the confidence to book a ski holiday, because they can afford neither the risk of an expensive midweek dash home, nor the unauthorised extra fortnight off work,” he continued.

James Gambrill, chief executive of the Mountain Trade Network (MTN), agrees. “The current quarantine situation is hugely problematic for the ski industry, given the typical duration of over 95 per cent of ski holidays from the UK to Europe are seven days or less – very few skiers will be prepared to quarantine for two weeks as part of their planned trip.”

Their views on dwindling traveller confidence don’t go unjustified. Research carried out by MTN has found that before the last-minute quarantine change for arrivals from Spain was introduced at the end of July tour operators were seeing a boom in business for next winter. However, since then enquiries have plummeted as uncertainty rules the waves once more. “With three of the four major Alpine destinations for UK skiers, France, Switzerland and Austria, currently on the quarantine list this effectively makes travel from the UK for ski holidays this winter impossible for the vast majority of skiers,” said Gambrill.

The UK Government’s fluid approach to quarantine is unnerving destinations in Europe as well as British skiers and snowboarders. “The current state with a constantly changing framework is very challenging and discouraging for travellers. Airport testing would contribute to a certain planning security and encourage travellers to book their holidays,” said Alex Herrmann, director United Kingdom and Ireland at Switzerland Tourism.

“We are in favour of any measures which allow for safe international travel to resume; consumers in the UK should be able to book future travel with confidence. We sincerely hope that any quarantine imposed upon return to the UK would be reviewed soon and lifted or replaced by more targeted measures such as airport testing before the winter season kicks off,” he continued.

The proactive approach by those in the industry comes as no surprise as the quarantine rules currently pose a real threat to early-season and Christmas ski holidays. As hard as it will be for most skiers to admit, nobody is going to risk having to spend the festive period in self isolation for the sake of the first turns of the season – airport testing has the potential to put the spirit back into Christmas in the mountains and time is of the essence.

“A workable testing system at airports running before the season starts would provide that operational clarity that operators need, and would allow them to market and sell to skiers with confidence,” said Gambrill.

“No operator wants to be selling a product when they can’t have 100 per cent certainty that they will be able to fulfil the contract. With skiers typically paying the balance for ski holidays eight weeks before departure an effective testing system in place in early October would remove the uncertainty of quarantine as balances become due.”

Ski resorts and tour operators were among the first to be hit by the economic impact of the virus. As the pandemic spread across Europe in February and March resorts were forced to close almost two months prematurely, losing out on more than a third of their annual business. If airport testing isn’t introduced there are fears that the Alpine destinations and businesses will suffer a similar fate this coming winter.

“To save literally hundreds of thousands of jobs across the travel industry, the Government must do better than the blanket quarantines,” said Sinclair.

Credit should be given to those staff members, whose jobs hang in the balance, in resorts around the world who are working tirelessly to bring in new safety measures in order to reopen for visitors. The mountains are now scattered with sanitisation stations, booking systems have undergone digital transformations and ski schools, equipment hire shops and mountain restaurants have all had to adapt to survive. Thankfully, summer has given them the opportunity to test the waters before the masses (hopefully) descend on the slopes come winter.

“At the moment, the opening of the ski resorts in the Austrian Tirol will go ahead as normal. From the mid-to-the-end of September, the five Tirolean glacier resorts, Sölden, Hintertux, Stubai, Pitztal and Kaunertal, will start the season,” said Holger Gassler, head of marketing at the Austrian Tirol Tourist Board.

solden
solden

His optimism is justified, the Austrian government has been at the forefront of testing for some time. “Tests in the tourism sector have been increased, therefore employees of accommodation companies, employees of the catering trade, camping sites and youth hostels can now also be tested regularly and free of charge,” said Gassler, who explains resorts are expecting uniform regulations from the country’s Government for the upcoming winter in order to allow them to open safely.

All this hard work will be in vain if the UK doesn’t follow suit and its haphazard approach to travel plans remains in place once the snow starts falling. “Operators are offering refund guarantees and no cost flexibility, and resorts are working hard to provide as much of a holiday product to ensure a ski holiday remains a very enjoyable pastime, even during a pandemic. Government now has to provide as much clarity and security as possible to give the industry a fighting chance of operating as close to normal as they can this winter,” said Gambrill.

One thing remains the same as last winter – Britons desire to hit the slopes. A recent survey of dedicated snow-sport fans by the Ski Club of Great Britain found that over 97 per cent of UK skiers intend to return to the mountains next winter.

A quarter of those surveyed for the Club’s annual consumer report had their travel plans disrupted by coronavirus last season but research into intentions for future travel found that skiers and snowboarders haven’t been put off by the pandemic and are confident they will return to the mountains next season if it’s possible. This was the positive news many operators had been waiting for and many believe airport testing is the lifeline needed to get those customers keen to return to the mountains back onto the slopes.

“Operators and ski resorts are optimistic about a full December start to the ski season, but everyone is aware this will only happen if the Government has airport testing running, to replace blanket quarantine, before Christmas,” said Sinclair.