France is the most popular country for a ski holiday, with a total of nine resorts in the top 25 – five of which are in the top ten. The second most popular country is Austria, with six resorts in the top 25. The only long haul destination to feature is Whistler in Canada.
LONDON – Morzine is the most popular ski resort this season, followed by Chamonix and Zakopane, according to data from hotel search website trivago.co.uk. At an average of £298 per night, Courchevel is the most expensive, while Bansko is the cheapest. UK travellers are willing to pay up to £459 per night for their hotel room and will stay for an average of five nights. Ischgl has the best-rated hotels, with an average hotel rating of 86.84, while Pas de la Casa has the lowest-rated hotels.
25 most popular ski resorts, 2015-16
|
Popularity Ranking |
Destination |
Country |
Average Price |
Average Clicked Price |
Average Stay Duration |
Hotel Reputation |
|
1 |
Morzine |
France |
£146 |
£286 |
5 |
80.00 |
|
2 |
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc |
France |
£134 |
£224 |
4 |
81.90 |
|
3 |
Zakopane |
Poland |
£53 |
£95 |
4 |
83.72 |
|
4 |
Val Thorens |
France |
£248 |
£294 |
6 |
82.82 |
|
5 |
St. Anton am Arlberg |
Austria |
£232 |
£421 |
5 |
84.38 |
|
6 |
Innsbruck |
Austria |
£97 |
£135 |
3 |
79.43 |
|
7 |
Bansko |
Bulgaria |
£52 |
£85 |
6 |
83.73 |
|
8 |
Tignes |
France |
£211 |
£287 |
6 |
82.74 |
|
9 |
Val d’Isère |
France |
£210 |
£335 |
5 |
81.07 |
|
10 |
Zermatt |
Switzerland |
£209 |
£347 |
5 |
86.17 |
|
11 |
Mayrhofen |
Austria |
£163 |
£247 |
5 |
84.80 |
|
12 |
Soldeu |
Andorra |
£145 |
£170 |
6 |
79.45 |
|
13 |
Borovets |
Bulgaria |
£62 |
£72 |
6 |
79.56 |
|
14 |
Whistler |
Canada |
£197 |
£261 |
8 |
84.54 |
|
15 |
Méribel |
France |
£200 |
£352 |
6 |
82.25 |
|
16 |
Pas de la Casa |
Andorra |
£94 |
£144 |
5 |
75.16 |
|
17 |
Zell am See |
Austria |
£158 |
£226 |
6 |
83.24 |
|
18 |
Les Gets |
France |
£180 |
£281 |
5 |
85.57 |
|
19 |
Ischgl |
Austria |
£267 |
£420 |
6 |
86.84 |
|
20 |
Sauze d’Oulx |
Italy |
£126 |
£189 |
5 |
82.11 |
|
21 |
Les Deux Alpes |
France |
£123 |
£184 |
6 |
76.15 |
|
22 |
Verbier |
Switzerland |
£279 |
£402 |
5 |
81.99 |
|
23 |
Courchevel |
France |
£298 |
£459 |
6 |
79.37 |
|
24 |
Seefeld |
Austria |
£164 |
£213 |
5 |
85.50 |
|
25 |
Courmayeur |
Italy |
£141 |
£256 |
4 |
81.89 |
Morzine has risen in popularity from the fourth most popular resort last season to the most popular this season, while Chamonix has dropped from first to second place. The surprise entry, however, is Zakopane, which did not feature on last season’s list but is the third most popular resort this season. This could be due to hosting part of the Ski Jumping World Cup, or due to the creation of The Giant Maze – set to be the world’s largest ice maze.
France is the most popular country for a ski holiday, with a total of nine resorts in the top 25 – five of which are in the top ten. The second most popular country is Austria, with six resorts in the top 25. The only long haul destination to feature is Whistler in Canada.
The most expensive ski resort for a hotel stay is Courchevel, at an average of £298 per night. This is followed by Verbier at £279 and Ischgl at £267. At an average of £52 per night, Bansko is the cheapest resort, followed by Zakopane at £53 and Borovets at £62. One night in Courchevel is on average 477 per cent more expensive than one night in Bansko.
The average clicked price, however, shows that Brits are researching hotels which are much more expensive than the average price. In Courchevel, for example, the average clicked price (when a user clicks on a hotel to take them to the booking site), is £459 – 54 per cent higher than the average price of £298.
The best-rated hotels can be found in Ischgl, with an average rating of 86.84, followed by Zermatt at 86.17. Scaling to 100, the trivago Rating Index aggregates reviews from across the web, providing an accurate and comprehensive indicator of hotel quality. The lowest-rated are in Pas de la Casa, with an average rating of 75.16, followed by Les Deux Alpes at 76.15.
Unsurprisingly, the ski resort with the highest length of stay is Whistler in Canada. The majority of the resorts are popular for 5 to 6 day stays, with some popular for a shorter break – namely Innsbruck, Courmayeur, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and Zakopane.
Denise Bartlett, UK Public Relations: “It is great to see such a range of destinations on our most-popular list, from more traditional resorts in France and Austria to new entries in Andorra and Poland, plus one further-afield entry from Canada. The biggest surprise is Zakopane, which has risen in fame from a summer hiking destination to the third most popular ski resort this season. With prices in Polish and Bulgarian ski resorts significantly cheaper than their French and Austrian counterparts, and hotel quality equally strong, resorts such as Zakopane could present a good value alternative.”
Photo caption: Morzine, France.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
