Neilson are to offer free of charge ski guiding in France and other countries next season.
The tour operator will use established ski schools to provide the service, avoiding the controversy of recent years with prosecutors, particularly in France but also now in other countries, questioning whether staff offering hosting and guiding have acceptable qualifications.
For example, Neilson is working with the ESS (European Ski & Snowboard school) in Les Deux Alpes.
Neilson are calling the service 'mountain experts' and it is not offered to all guests but to those staying in their Neilson Mountain Collection properties.
These includes guests staying at the Hotel Del Clos in El Tarter, Andorra, the Hotel Turquoise in La Plagne, the Hotel Aalborg and the Hotel Le Cret, both in Les Deux Alpes and the Hotel Escapade in Alpe D'Huez.
There are also a range of chalets in France, Andorra and Italy included within the Neilson Mountain Collection.
Targeted at those who can already ski on blue and red pistes the service, which was trialled last season, will offer a weekly timetable of classes for various ability levels and on different types of terrain. Guests can choose whether to be guided or to get performance tips too.
Other British tour operators have made changes in recent seasons too. Crystal positions non-skiing hosts at key ski lift base stations to offer their guests advice and also offers free hosting using local ski school staff at some resorts.
The legal actions between tour operators and the French authorities over their ban on ski hosting by tour operator staff who do not have the highest French ski school qualifications and a separate case against the Ski Club of Great Britain for using guides without the highest French ski school qualifications and a third case against a British ski school for offering ski lessons from teachers who did not hold the highest French ski school qualifications which all began around 2013 are all ongoing in the meantime.
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