Ski Holidays by Rail Up 100%, By Air Down 17%, Says Ski Holiday Company

One of the world’s leading ski holiday companies,  Club Med, says their bookings for the upcoming 23-24 season are showing a 100% jump in the number of people wishing to travel by train.

In more evidence that skiers are actively switching from air to rail, Club Med also say they’ve seen there is a 17% decrease (comparing findings from 2022/23 with 2023/34) for people choosing to fly.

The news comes as holiday companies and ski resorts all push travel by rail as opposed to air harder than ever with lots of new options appearing this winter.

These include the return of the ski train service between London St Pancras and stations in the French Alps. Formerly a direct service, it was cancelled in 2020, but then restarted as a charter by a company called Travelski, a division of Europe’s largest ski resort operator, the Compangie des Alps. For winters 21-22 and 22-23 it was possible to book a direct train again but only as part of a package also including transfers, accommodation and lift pass in selected resorts.

For 23-24 the package ski holidays are still available but the direct charter train has been cancelled. There is though, for the first half of the season to mid-February, a snow train service with a quick platform change at Lille. The advantages of this are more daytime services and you can once again book a train ticket only with Eurostar, you no longer need to book a full package holiday.

But, you can if you wish, and another big change this year is more tour operators and travel agencies are keen to offer packages with rail instead of air travel – not just on to usual snow train route and not just Travelski.

Inghams, one of the biggest ski tour operators, have gone big on ski holidays by rail this year and among ski travel agencies, Sno.co.uk say that they have made every Alpine holiday bookable by rail.

“The ski industry is excited that the snow train is back, and we wanted to go further, by offering all of the independent chalets and hotels with a ski train options too,” explained CEO Richard Sinclair, who says that Sno have seen a 50% jump in skiers looking for rail options to go on their ski holidays.

The ski resorts themselves are also pushing access by rail, sometimes with incentives. Morzine gives 10% off lift passes and other benefits to rail arrivals, (see our earlier report here) for la Rosiere above Bourg St Maurice station across the valley from Les Arcs, its 15%.  Nearby La Plagne have announced that people booking direct with them won’t be offered packages with air travel anymore, only rail or car-based holidays.

“The Mountains of France are well connected to the UK by train. We need to take advantage of our geographical proximity and rail infrastructure to enable more people to get there in this way. It’s our responsibility to play our part in ensuring that holidaymakers can research, book and travel by train to France as easily as possible,” says Gwénaëlle Delos, Managing Director UK & Ireland of Atout France.

Pic credit: Daniel Elkan

The move back to rail for skiers validates the hard work of long-time promoters of ski holidays by train like Daniel Elkan with his SnowCarbon.co.uk site, established almost 15 years ago. This winter they’ve teamed up with France Montagnes and Explore France to produce a new rail map of ski resorts showing the best rail routes to reach French resorts (below)