Every winter we read reports in the media of serious injuries and deaths of skiers and boarders which can make snow-lovers concerned about ski holiday safety.
This month the British Consulate in Marseille, in partnership with tour operator Crystal, has organised a series of workshops in the French Alps supported by the police, the rescue services and tourist offices and aimed at businesses operating in the resorts.
The workshops, which will take place in Les Deux Alpes, Alpe d'Huez, Tignes and Val Thorens between 16th and 18th December, will discuss accident and injury prevention, the role of different support services (i.e. Gendarmerie, municipal police, British Consulate, tour operators) and what safety messages to get across to skiers and boarders on safety and how best to do that. There'll also be a Q&A forum to give teams an opportunity to raise their concerns and share their thoughts.
"We hope to make as many people as possible aware of the specific dangers in the Alps so that their trip remains fun and trouble-free," said British Consul Simon Taylor, "We've been working closely with tourist offices, town halls and ski companies out here and we've been sharing good practice with the Gendarmerie Mountain Rescue Team. We'll also be distributing flyers specifically aimed at the British skiing community detailing our top tips."
The initiative follows previous safety awareness initiatives in the last few years to tackle alcohol misuse in ski resorts as well as pushing the need to have full travel insurance cover.
This is just the latest in initiatives that have been run for many years by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) and its members who have worked together with accommodation and transport providers as well as other tourist services overseas to try to raise standards and promote a safer skiing environment.
In addition to this, Crystal Ski Holidays has fully-trained health and safety advisers overseas who, during the season, audit suppliers using existing guidelines. All operational staff also go through health and safety training relevant to their position before the season gets underway.
The FTO holds quarterly meetings in the UK with all ABTA ski operators at which joint initiatives on how to further improve customer safety while on holiday are regularly discussed and put into place.