UK stands out as largest source market in European ski season

The UK remains the dominant source of ski travellers by accounting for almost one third of all winter capacity, new data shows.

 

More than 1.5 million seats are available across the four-month winter sports season in Europe, with March emerging as the single busiest month for ski travel.

 

Across Europe’s ski-focused airports, capacity in March runs 23% higher than normal levels, confirming late winter as the height of the ski travel season.

 

The figures come from fresh analysis of scheduled airline capacity for the December 2025 to March 2026 season by travel data specialist OAG.

 

The largest ski source markets after the UK this winter are Spain, France, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands.

 

Turkey emerged as the fastest-growing top source market, with capacity up 21% year on year to ski destinations in Europe.

 

The United Arab Emirates follows with a 7% increase.

 

The top 10 source markets account for 78% of total ski season capacity.

 

However, the growth momentum from Turkey and the UAE signals a broadening geographic base for European ski travel, even as some traditional European markets show flatter performance, OAG noted.

 

Geneva in Switzerland remains Europe’s undisputed ski gateway by scale, with more than eight times the capacity of Salzburg, the next largest ski-focused airport. 

 

While Geneva dominates in absolute numbers, some of the strongest proportional growth is occurring at smaller, highly ski-centric airports.

 

Chambery and Grenoble stand out as particularly winter-driven markets, with traffic heavily concentrated in the ski season, the analysis found.

 

OAG chief analyst John Grant said: “Europe’s ski market remains highly concentrated, with the UK firmly established as the leading source of demand.

 

“But what’s particularly striking this season is the growth coming from outside the traditional western European core.

 

“Turkey and the UAE are showing strong momentum, highlighting how skiing in Europe is attracting a more diverse international traveller base.

 

“At the same time, March clearly stands out as the peak ski month.

 

“Airlines are responding to that demand by concentrating capacity in late winter, especially at specialist Alpine airports where traffic is heavily seasonal.”