Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Italy’s Bardonecchia was named Europe’s best-value skiing resort for a second year running according to a new report, as British skiers benefited from a stronger pound.
Italian ski resorts are likely to offer the best value for money this year, according to a ranking by Post Office Travel Money that compared the cost of ski passes, equipment hire, lessons and refreshments across a week-long holiday. A week at Bardonecchia was priced at £544 per person, excluding flights and accommodation, up just 1.5 per cent from last year.
The pound is close to its highest level against the euro since the 2016 Brexit vote, meaning that holidaymakers will benefit from favourable exchange rates as they travel abroad this winter.
Costs for a single adult skier fell at a third of the 36 resorts surveyed and there were single-digit rises at the remaining two-thirds.
Italian resorts make up six of the top 10 and are joined by two Bulgarian destinations, along with Baqueira Beret in Spain, and Norway’s Norefjell resort — a new entrant after prices fell 2.6 per cent to £739.
Post Office Travel Money warned that those skiing in Norway should “choose restaurants and bars carefully as the cost of meals and drinks can be much higher than in most other European resorts.”
Passo Tonale offered the best value for a family of four, with a one-week cost of £1,571, a fall of 7.9 per cent on last year. The Italian resort offers a “kids-go-free” equipment hire deal throughout the skiing season.
Prices rose at three-quarters of the 30 resorts surveyed for family holidays, because of the cost of ski tuition.
Laura Plunkett, head of Post Office Travel Money, said that it was “vitally important for skiers looking for a bargain break to do their homework before booking” because “the cost of lift passes, equipment hire and ski school continues to vary by hundreds of pounds.”
Kranjska Gora offered the lowest ski-school prices at £399 for five to six half days. For a family of four, the total cost of a week at the Slovenian resort fell by nearly a quarter to £1,714.
Plunkett advised families who have yet to book to “compare resort prices for ski equipment hire and lift passes, as well as for meals and drinks, as these can make a big difference to the overall cost of a ski holiday”.
Swiss resorts remain the most expensive, costing over £1,100 for one adult skier.
