Skiers face a particularly tough market in the 2010/11 season as UK school holidays coincide with those of overseas schools.
Stuart de Bourgogne, Club Med’s UK agency sales manager, warned schools in France, Switzerland and Belgium would all be sharing their winter holidays with British schools, meaning there would be greater competition for accommodation in the Alps.
With family accommodation already virtually sold out for the February 2011 half-term in the operator’s flagship Peisey-Vallandry property, De Bourgogne is urging agents to act quickly after the operator started taking bookings last week.
“The availability on the peak dates is on a first come, first served basis so you need to get on to it now to make sure of it,” he said.
“However, the UK market is likely to book earlier than those of other markets and with our agent incentives and early-booking benefits, we hope that agents will be encouraged to start thinking about winter 2010-11 now.”
Having seen strong growth in sales of its ski product this year, De Bourgogne said there was currently no sign of demand for all-inclusive properties flattening out.
“The market for luxury all-inclusive has remained very popular. And given that the financial crisis is still going on, people want to pay one price before leaving,” he added.
De Bourgogne said the operator was featuring 22 ski properties in its 2010-11 programme, half of which have been newly renovated.
Early-booking offers mean savings of up to £180 per adult and £90 per child are available on selected properties for bookings made before July 14.