Snow holidays supplant skiing
FOR South Africans, a snow
holiday is an exotic bucketlist trip. As traditional
downhill skiing requires
training, skill and specialised
equipment, operators report
that South African clients are
often drawn to multi-activity
snow holidays offering more
than just skiing.
Kelly Jackson, head of sales
for The Travel Corporation,
confirms that a significant
number of SA travellers are
opting to enjoy skiing and
winter sports abroad. She
says that even if clients try
out skiing and it’s not for
them, it doesn’t mean that
they can’t enjoy the many
cultural experiences and other
activities offered along with
the option to ski.
Think aprés ski – the social
activities that take place after
a day spent hitting the slopes
– or music festivals and visits
to the famous Schnapps
Museum in Vienna, Kelly
suggests.
Club Med md SA, Olivier
Hannaert, says it has become
a trend to book a ‘snow
holiday’ instead of a skiing
holiday, partly because there
may be some apprehension
around skiing and people’s
perception that it is the only
thing such a holiday entails.
“Customers are looking
for skiing, but also for
other activities such as
snowboarding, snowshoeing,
sledding, taking in the fresh
mountain air or simply
enjoying the sights.”
In the past, the South
African market showed a
strong inclination toward
holidays in the sun, he says.
“That has changed and
now, more than ever, South
Africans are considering snow
holidays.”
Exodus Travels also reports
a substantial increase in
winter holidays booked from
South Africa and says its
multi-activity trips – that
include activities such as
viewing the Northern lights,
dogsledding, ice hotels, crosscountry skiing, snow tubing,
ice-skating and snowshoeing
– are most popular.
“We like to escape the
crowds rather than join them,
leaving the downhill runs
behind and getting off the
beaten track. Mixed activity
holidays allow for all sorts of
fun in the snow, with a new
activity to try out every day,”
said a local spokesperson for
Exodus.
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Waterfall and Seljaindsfoss Waterfall.
Accidents can happen – so be prepared
KELLY Jackson, head
of sales for The Travel
Corporation, says it is
essential, that clients take
out comprehensive travel
insurance to cover them for
any medical issue that may
arise.
“Accidents can happen, so
it’s best to be safe rather than
sorry.”
She recommends skiing
lessons whether the traveller
is a beginner or a pro.
“It’s always good to have
a refresher even if you’re
already an accomplished
skier. If it’s your first time, a
few lessons will boost your
confidence.”
South Africans hardly ever
experience snow and the
majority have limited or no
skiing experience, says Simmy
Micheli, Travel Insurance
Consultants (TIC) manager –
sales and marketing.
“The risk for SA travellers –
and the insurer – if a traveller
is going on a skiing holiday is,
therefore, always higher.”
Sustaining an injury while
participating in snow sports
can ruin a holiday and bring
it to an abrupt end, she
cautions. “Additionally, it can
leave you with exorbitant
medical costs.”
It has always been like this,
says Simmy, and insurers
do factor this in to the cover
provided.
“TIC provides full cover
for leisure skiing accidents.
The only condition is that if
clients are planning to ski
off-piste they should be with
a guide for full cover. Should
clients wish to compete
professionally or participate
in a competition, they need
to apply for a sporting
extension.”
Most of the ski claims
originate from clients
travelling in the USA and
Europe, Simmy says.
Out and about with Contiki and Busabout
CONTIKI has ski products
in Europe, New Zealand,
Canada and the USA, says
Kelly Jackson of The Travel
Corporation.
In Austria there are over
280km of ski runs for
all levels of skiers, from
beginners to intermediate and
advanced. “They also have
their own traditional Gasthof
in Haus Schöneck, which is
newly refurbished.”
A popular Contiki itinerary
is ‘Austria Ski Plus’, an eightor 15-day trip that whisks
travellers from London for two
weeks to the Austrian Alps,
from R19 815pps.
The ‘Ski Austria Weekender’
is a five-day extended
weekend trip from R5 655pps.
Kelly says the Busabout
brand offers two ski products
in Les Deux Alpes in France.
These are ‘New Year’s Ski
Adventure’ (15 days) and the
‘Rise Festival Ski Adventure’,
a seven-day round trip from
Paris, with the Rise Festival
and skiing in between, from
R16 450pp. Both itineraries
include a ski pass.
Skiing on a shoestring
THE UK Post Office Travel
Money Ski Resort Report
2018 lists these five resorts
as the most affordable ski
options in Europe:
Bansko in Bulgaria
Bansko is the most
affordable ski resort
in Europe at present.
Situated at the foot of Pirin
mountain in south-western
Bulgaria, this resort town
is 160km from Sofia. It
offers excellent ski and
snowboarding conditions
and a large selection
of bars and traditional
restaurants called
‘mehana’. It also boasts the
cheapest ski resort beers in
Europe, says the report.
Bardonecchia in Italy
Offering the secondbest value in Europe,
Bardonecchia in the
Piedmont region is a quiet
resort offering 100km of
mainly intermediate pistes.
Visitors can also experience
traditional dishes from
the region, including veal
tartare, marinated peppers
in tuna sauce and venison
stew.
Karsnjska Gora in
Slovenia
Slovenia is an up-andcoming tourist destination
and this resort, located
close to the Austrian and
Italian borders, offers
beginner to intermediate
level pistes that are easily
accessible from the village.
The resort is perhaps best
known for ski jumping, as
nearby Planica is home to
more world record jumps
than any other ski jumping
centre in the world.
Vemdalen in Sweden
In addition to its 24 ski
lifts and 58 slopes, this
Swedish resort also offers
cross-country skiing,
snowmobiling, ice fishing,
dogsledding, horseback
riding in the snow, iceclimbing, snowcat rides and
snowshoeing activities.
Rauris in Austria
Nestled alongside some of
Austria’s highest mountains,
between the Gastein
Valley and Zell am See,
the quiet resort of Rauris
offers extremely affordable
Austrian alpine skiing. The
summit lift carries skiers
to an altitude of 2 175m
above sea level and visitors
can also try their hand at
ice-climbing whenever the
nearby Barbara Falls freeze
solid.
Recent ski claims
TIC processes its fair
share of skiing and
snowboarding claims,
says Simmy.
A TIC policy holder
recently injured herself
skiing in Austria. On the
last day of her holiday,
on her second-last run
down, another skier doing
a jump distracted her and
she fell, even though she
wasn’t going fast. She
fractured the fibula in her
leg and needed a cast.
She was upgraded to
business class when she
flew home.
Another claim saw a
client admitted to hospital
after falling during leisure
snowboarding in Italy. He
fractured his left clavicle
and returned home ten
days later in business
class (total claim amount:
R220 000).
Costly airlift
In another skiing
accident in Austria, a
policy holder suffered
head and spine injuries
and a rescue team had
to airlift him from the
mountains. He returned
to SA with a medical
escort (total claim
amount:
R306 000).
TIC also cautions policy
holders to be aware of
scammers, referencing
a recent case where a
serial litigant deliberately
caused an accident,
trapping an unsuspecting
tourist.
In this incident, a
TIC policy holder was
holidaying in Colorado
and inadvertently knocked
over a fellow skier. He
was forced to sign an
admission of liability and
was later tracked down
in SA where he was
served with a summons
of US$100 000 (about
R1,4m).
TIC’s investigations
revealed that the
accident ‘victim’ caused
accidents like this all the
time. TIC settled out of
court (inclusive of legal
expenses) to the value of
R430 000.
