Mountains

Mountains

Mountain resorts remain open for business during summer but selling to the younger market is proving to be a tough challenge.

Wide open space: Austria, above, and Italy are the lead players in Europe’s lakes and mountains market

As skiers consign their kit to the loft until next winter, it’s easy to put the mountains to the back of your mind. But you could be missing a trick – Europe’s lakes and mountain resorts are open throughout the summer and there’s plenty of product on offer.

Unlike winter sports, which have a universal appeal, operators agree the summer lakes and mountains market is overwhelmingly dominated by mature visitors – typically empty nesters – especially in established destinations such as Italy and Austria.

Lakes and mountains bookings are small in comparison with the UK ski market’s annual passenger figures of around 700,000. Bookings made through travel agents number around 200,000, 60% of which come through three operators: Thomson, Inghams and Crystal.

Such is the strength of the Italian market that JMC took the step last September of consolidating its lakes and mountains product into a summer Italy brochure.

Within the Thomas Cook group, active breaks are consigned solely to the Neilson brand, which in summer offers water sports, walking and biking breaks in Greece, Turkey, Spain, the Caribbean and the Alps.

For tourers and sightseers, Italy leads the field, with Thomson and Crystal introducing Pescas-seroli in the Abruzzo region. Other new resorts include Arraba, Cortina, Caorle, Maderno and the Adriatic Riviera.

Inghams has boosted its programme with new Stansted and Manchester flights to Bolzano, as well as offering Arabba, Corvara, Santa Christina and Ortisei for the first time. But it is the less-established summer lakes and mountains destinations, for example France and Andorra, that are now more likely to see some variation in their client bases.

First Choice sales and marketing director Adrian Harwood said: “The Italian and Austrian markets are stable, mature and unlikely to develop much further. The French and Andorran markets have the potential to grow, as clients going there tend to be more flexible.”

All of the operators have tried to widen the lakes and mountains product to include more activity-based holidays to help attract younger visitors. However, success has been limited.

Inghams Andorra product manager Ian Brittan said: “It’s difficult to attract younger clients. In summer, people who want a high-adrenaline holiday are more inclined to go independently.”

Harwood agreed that attracting the younger market was a tough challenge.

“First Choice made a real push for the summer activity market. We did a mailing to our ski clients and advertised in the travel press, but it didn’t go anywhere,” he said. “For example, the take-up for mountain biking in Zell am Cee is huge, but it’s the Dutch, Germans or Scandinavians who are doing it.”

Nevertheless, operators are still trying to buck the market. Thomson has launched a dedicated lakes and mountains website, and, in addition to an increasing array of product offered in resorts (see pages 42-43), Crystal has introduced short breaks to its programme for the first time in an attempt to break the seven, 10 or 14-night duration pattern that has evolved.