More Brits Heading To The Ski Slopes For 2008

The 2006/2007 ski season saw a nice rise in numbers of Brits taking a ski holiday. Last year's 3% rise is expected to increase through the 2007/2008 ski season.

Just over 37% of UK skiers choose to ski in France while 19% choose Austria and 13% choose to ski in Italy. France seems to be the favorite ski destination for most Britons. Crystal Holidays already reports a 10% increase in bookings in its resorts.

The 2006/2007 ski season was more challenging than previous years due to poor snowfall at the start of the season. Lower-altitude ski resorts could face the same challenges this year, according to predictions, but early snowfalls in Austria and Andorra have been encouraging.

Inghams, another popular UK ski holiday company, also reports bookings ahead of last year at this time.

Litsa Constantinou, Chief Executive of Inghams, said: "We expect growth in many of the popular destinations and also that the trend for people taking multiple ski holidays will continue."

High-altitude, snow-sure resorts with Neilson Ski are also selling very well this 2007/2008 ski season. Andy Harmer, head of product and planning at Neilson, said: "Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish resorts are proving attractive, as are the Canadian resorts, which enjoyed fantastic snow last winter."

Crystal Holidays is the UK's leading holiday spot for year round travel, especially during ski season. Crystal features a network of 140 resorts in 14 countries worldwide. Gareth Crump, product and marketing director for Crystal Holidays, said: "France benefits from the popularity of the chalet and club hotel product and its high-altitude resorts. Austria lost out (last ski season) because its low-lying resorts suffered from poor snowfall."

Aside from great ski destinations, Crystal Holidays offers great family holiday getaways. Crystal has stylish hotels and chalets in some of the UK's most popular resort locations. Many of these locations offer a wide range of holiday escapes in Europe and North America; some of Crystal's holiday packages include; lakeside locations, mountain villages, beach resorts, walking breaks, city stays, touring and much more. You can truly enjoy your holiday at your own pace with activities like hiking, biking, climbing, rafting and paragliding.

The Principality of Andorra, more commonly known as Andorra, is a highly sought-after ski destination. Nestled in the eastern Pyrenees mountains bordering Spain and France, Andorra usually provides perfect ski conditions throughout the ski season. Crystal Holidays has three resorts in Andorra; Arinsal, Pas de la Casa, and Soldeu.

Andorra's economy relies primarily on the estimated nine-million tourists who visit each year. Due to the tourist population and immigration, there are many languages spoken in Andorra. The historic and official language of the area is Catalan. Many nationalities have immigrated to Andorra, so you'll also hear Spanish, French and Portuguese, as well as English.

Andorra is rich in culture and home to folk dances like the contrapas and marratxa. Andorran folk music shares similarities with all of its neighbouring provinces and countries but is essentially Catalan in character.

Skiing has become a very popular seasonal getaway during the last decade; more and more people each year book ski holidays as weekend getaways and week-long holidays. Where ever you plan your 2007/2008 ski holiday, keep these great destinations in mind.