Snow resorts in New Zealand’s South Island are reporting a flurry of late bookings from Australia amid record levels of snowfall.
Tourism New Zealand said it was “one of the best starts to a season in a generation” as it looks to attract 100,000 Australians across the Tasman this winter for a ski holiday.
Treble Cone and Roundhill have been blanketed in two metres of snow while snowfall at Mt Hutt is said by Tourism NZ “to have broken all reliable records” with three and half metres on the upper slopes and three at the base.
Craig Douglas, sales and marketing manager for Ski NZ Ltd which owns The Remarkables, Coronet Peak and Mt Hutt said: “We are hearing from the travel trade that there has been a flurry of last minute bookings as a result of the great conditions.”
Additional peak season flights – Air NZ and Virgin Australia have added 30,000 seats between Australia and Queenstown – coupled with a “consistently favourable exchange rate” is also driving demand, Tourism NZ general manager Australia Tim Burgess said.
Air NZ general manager Australia, Leanne Geraghty, said the carrier was “encouraged” by the conditions and its impact on sales.
“The early snowfalls indicate a healthy 2013 ski season which is likely to generate extra interest in the Australian marketplace for a New Zealand ski experience,” she said.
Burgess told Travel Today last month the agency would continue to drive the late bookings market as the season progressed.
“We’ll ensure a constant flow of information about snow conditions, deals and how long the resorts will be open for,” he said.
