A skiing price war has erupted after tour operators slashed prices to Alpine resorts following no snow and increased competition from cheap resorts in Bulgaria.

Ski companies are offering week-long holidays to the Alps over Christmas and New Year at half price or less, with one selling a £945 full-board week-long holiday in France for just £399.

Meanwhile skiing holidays in Bulgaria are growing in popularity, largely because of the low cost.

Research released yesterday showed that the cost of a lift pass, boot hire and ski school for a family of four in the Bulgarian resort of Bansko costs just £800 a week.

This is almost half the equivalent cost in France - £1,520 – and a fraction of the £1,764 that it costs to fund a family skiing holiday in Switzerland.

Sarah Munro, head of travel money at the Post Office, which released the Family Ski Resort Report, said that the cost of taking a family skiing has fallen by up to 20 per cent over the last two years, due in part to the arrival of new destinations such as Bulgaria.

“This is welcome news for cash-conscious family skiers. Prices are more competitive than before in the bargain hunter’s report of Bansko in Bulgaria,” said Ms Munro.

Recent figures suggest that France’s dominance as a skiing destination is being threatened by the rise of Central European countries such as Bulgaria and Slovenia.

While France remains the most popular destination for British skiers, its share of the market dropped to 38 per cent last year, its lowest since 2005, according to the Ski Club of Great Britain. Meanwhile Bulgaria now accounts for 4 per cent of the market from a standing start a few years ago.

The start of the ski season in the Alps has also been affected by a lack of snow. According to local reports, the mountains have had the worst start of a winter season for 147 years. One ski expert said yesterday that only a third of the resorts have enough snow to ski.

A general slump in consumer demand has hit bookings to Europe. One tour operator said that the prices of holidays to Alpine resorts started to be heavily discounted last week.

Alpine operators have reacted by significantly cutting their prices.

“It is jittery out there. There’s a bit of panic,” said one ski company executive.

Some ski resorts have launched their own incentives to drum up custom. Davos, the upmarket resort in Switzerland, is offering free lift passes to every visitor for much of December.

Bookings have also been hit by a quirk in the calendar which means that Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on Saturdays, which is traditionally transfer day at skiing resorts.

Tour operators have found that people are unwilling to spend these crucial days in the Christmas schedule either on an aeroplane or a cold bus winding up or down a mountain range.

Britons are tightening their belts in the face of declining disposable incomes. Research out yesterday from Expedia, the travel company, showed that one in five Britons have stopped planning holidays in advance due to worries over the economy.

A spokesman for Crystal Ski, which is offering seven nights in Andorra for as little as £199, said: “Coupled with the recession and the euro in turmoil, people are holing back on what they are buying.”

However the spokesman added that sales were about flat on last year.

Veronique Kanel, spokeswoman for Swiss Tourism, said there was no cause for alarm yet.

"However, should this situation last until mid-December, the lack of snow coupled with the strong Swiss franc would be extremely worrying," she said.

By James Hall, Consumer Affairs Editor
Telegraph.co.uk
6:30AM GMT 02 Dec 2011

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