SkiStar, the group which runs half-a-dozen of Scandinavia's leading resorts, has reported a surge of more than a third in visitor numbers to several of its Swedish resorts following the launch of a new Easy Jet service from London to a nearby airport.
Throughout this ski season it has been possible to fly direct from London Gatwick to Östersund Airport with Easy Jet and then reach two of the SkiStar-run resorts, Åre and Vemdalen, by direct transfer, which the company credits as the main reason for the increase in numbers, although it says more Brits are also flying in to Stockholm and transferring from there too. The actual before and after numbers have not been published.
"It's great to see our collaboration with Easy Jet bearing fruit, alongside a general increase in interest for skiing holidays in the Nordic region coming from the UK. This excellent increase in visitors to our resorts from the UK is proof that people appreciate being able to have their morning cup of tea in London and then be able to enjoy skiing in Åre or Vemdalen just a few hours later via easy access," said Niclas Sjögren Berg, SkiStar's ski resort manager for Åre.
Åre is the most popular ski resort in Scandinavia and will again host the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2019. It was formerly offered by tour operator Neilson but Skistar now says it is taking 79% of bookings direct online.
SkiStar runs Sälen, Åre, Vemdalen, and Hammarbybacken (Stockholm) ski areas in Sweden as well as Hemsedal and Trysil in Norway and from this season also St Johann in Tirol in Austria. It's market share is 50% in Sweden, 31% in Norway and a total of 42% in Scandinavia.