In what is perhaps a reflection of the current state of the global economy, an annual study of the luxury ski chalet market has found more Australians are booking lux chalets than Russians.
According to the annual Chalet Ski Stats 2016 report which gathers data from 43 of the UK's "top ski influencers," the number of bookings from Australians last winter doubled from 5 to 10% whilst the Russian share has dropped from 12% to 9% compared to the previous year.
The report, compiled by the respected ski publishing house WELOVE2SKI.com in conjunction with luxury chalet company Consensio Holidays found that UK clients, traditionally the keenest on the chalet holiday concept, still made up by far the greatest proportion of bookings with 55% of the market.
Just as the top end of the chalet market seemed to survive the global economic crash in 2008 largely unscathed, so the 'Brexit vote' is not seeming to have any effect on bookings:
"Amid the uncertainty of Brexit, the ski market has had to wait with baited breathe as to how it would affect bookings. As the industry enters the busiest period for bookings, it is a general consensus across the board that it is looking healthier than ever, with peak weeks already sold out," said a Consensio spokesperson.
Similar to the season before, the price of the booking was the most influential factor for clients, but one obvious change is the importance of service, moving from sixth to fourth place. This further emphasises that whilst clients may be looking for better deals, they still expect the high standards of service they have come accustomed to.
Other findings of the resort were that the biggest spend in resort was on private Ski Guides and chalet guests are spending more on childcare but less on massages. The amount of snowfall was reported to have 'No Impact' on 46% of bookings.
Val d'Isere remains the resort of choice for chalet holidays in France with over 30% of the market and Verbier remains the most popular resort of choice in Switzerland.