Cosmos Holidays has outlined its aim to secure ‘ski strongholds’ following a positive debut season selling European ski holidays.
The operator has reported strong demand and a high number of forward bookings, with Austria proving the most popular destination so far with 55% of bookings. It also offers resorts in France and Italy.
Emma Thomas, regional purchasing manager for Cosmos, said: “We started fairly slowly, but that was anticipated, bearing in mind that we only launched in July.
“We’ve really seen an upturn in late bookings, so we’re focused on making sure we have availability.”
Thomas said the operator’s plan was to consolidate on a successful first season and to improve availability for next year.
“We have a better idea of where the demand is now – we’re not looking to massively expand, but our growth will depend on getting more of what has worked this year.
“We’re not going to take over the ski market overnight, but we’re looking to grow some ski strongholds in places that can be easily reached by transfers and where we have good relationships with hotels.”
Thomas said that adding ski seemed like a sensible move to maximise the potential of Monarch’s scheduled flight network, despite the stagnation of the ski market in recent years.
“It seemed like the right time because the signals were that demand was increasing. We
also had the Monarch network already flying to locations that work for ski, so it seemed like a natural move.
“We’ve had some great support from the big ski agents. There’s been some frustration caused by limited allocations due to only launching in July, but that will be sorted for next year.
“I think agents are pleased to see a new player in the market, and as long as we continue to provide the right product at the right price, I’m confident their support for us will keep growing.”