New research suggests the number of ski tourists travelling from the UK are down 11 per cent season-on-season, although there still seems to be plenty of reason for optimism in the sector.

Visitor numbers down
Official industry figures from Crystal show that the figure for UK ski holidaymakers during the last season was 956,300,

Bookings were down by 10 per cent, although this is thought to relate to capacity cuts in France rather than lack of interest. However, the data also reveals independent bookings were down 13 per cent while schools bookings dropped by 9 per cent.

However, the managing director of Crystal, Matthew Prior, believes that the outlook for the ski industry remains bright despite the disappointing results posted by the latest figures.

Sunny outlook for industry
Commenting on the company's findings, Mr Prior said:

"Operationally, last winter was terrible, with extreme weather, airline strikes and the volcano. On the positive side, the Olympic Games in Vancouver was great for skiing, we had the first winter X Games in Tignes, continuing investment in resorts and some great snow.

"Early bookings were well down and sterling was weak against the euro, but our profitability was rescued by capacity cuts."