The first is that the main holiday weekend of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day will fall on a weekend so for most holidays with Saturday or Sunday changeover days it means people will need to travel on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day themselves – which are the least popular days for travel.
The second factor pushing down prices is that most schools will return on Wednesday, January 3rd, meaning parents would need to take their kids out of the school for three days, which is again, not popular.
"We are finding that the New Year week is generating a lot more interest than we expected despite most schools going back on the 3rd and this may be due to much lower prices than normal New Year weeks," said Xavier Schouller, boss of French ski holiday specialists Peak Retreats (https://www.peakretreats.co.uk)
Some operators are trying to get around the weekend changeover by offering shorter breaks getting back by the 3rd and/or offering travel away from the usual weekend timings.
"We are operating to Andorra and Italy on a Tuesday in December, and with Christmas falling on a Sunday this year, there is a 5 night break in the first week of January which has plenty of good deals. Additionally, those who like to go away for New Year will see bigger savings than in normal years as we fly out to destinations on New Year's Eve," Crystal Ski's Head of Commercial Scott Britton told J2Ski.(https://www.crystalski.co.uk/)
"Some suppliers have adjusted dates to suit customers not wanting to travel on New Year's Eve, and some are sticking with weekend to weekend, so there's a selection of options for any preference, and it's on course for an early sell-out," claimed the CEO of SNO Richard Sinclair (https://www.sno.co.uk/ski-holidays/new-years-eve-ski-holidays/)