Weaker Euro Is Good News For Skiers Next Winter
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
The draconian budget may have one bit of good news for hard pressed British skiers – it is being credited with pushing the pound up against the Euro to its highest exchange rate value for more than 18 months.
The pound was valued at 1.22 Euros at close of business yesterday, its best since November 2008 – just before its value dipped for the 2008-9 season, and continued at a rate of almost 1 pound = 1 Euro, through last winter too.
If the pound maintains its current value then in-resort costs in the Alps such as meals, lift tickets, rentals and ski school costs should work out up to 20% cheaper for Brits than in the last two seasons.
The news is less good in the US where the pound is still running at around 25% lower value than it was for much of the decade from 1998 to 2008 when skiers were receiving up to two dollars per pound. Although the budget has seen some strengthening of the pound against the dollar, the rate remains below 1.5 dollars to the pound.
Although exchange rates will no doubt continue to fluctuate, skiers do have the option in many cases of pre-purchasing items like lift tickets and ski rentals in advance through the internet at many resorts and thus buy at the current exchange rate. 2010-11 lift pass prices have been published by many already (especially in Austria and Switzerland and top resorts in France, although not in Andorra, Eastern Europe or North America).
Pre-purchasing is always a gamble of course as rates may improve still further, but on the other hand resorts occasionally offer discounts for buying in advance and there’s also usually the added convenience of having lift tickets, for example, mailed to your home or waiting for you in resort rather than having to seek out a ticket office among the many other tasks on arrival in resort.
The rise in VAT in January will have a negative effect on the travel industry of course so is an added reason to book early!
