Thanks to the credit crunch snowboarding bookings dropped last snowboarding season.

This is even with cracking early on sales along with brilliant snow fall.

These drops in numbers comes after 6 years of successive growth within the skiing industry, and the number of holidaymakers shrunk from 1.05 million in 2008/9 to 900000 last ski season.

Perhaps due to snowboarders giving the season a miss, whilst additional vacationers who’d commonly have two or more ski holidays, only had one.

Sales for the independent travel sector fell by 15% and a few cheap airlines reducing the no. of routes to several destinations.

Some tour operators also saw their sales falling by around 15%.

Nevertheless, the top tour operators share of the market stayed at 72% and France remained the most popular ski destination with around 37% of the English ski market.

Because of this several large operators lowered the number of catered chalets they operate this year.

Luxury catered chalets will witness a a drop in numbers due to the fact that a catered ski chalet costs more with regards to chalet hosts and lease when it is not occupied.

Therefore it is unlikely we shall benefit from the type of ski offers which were up for grabs last winter.

Whilst prices are likely to go up, prices probably won’t go up substantially.

The 2009/10 season without doubt presents real challenges for the skiing industry which is touched by by the consequences of the depression, weakness of the pound against the euro, higher fuel costs and high fixed running costs for ski holiday companies.

Next season holidaymakers will become progressively price sensitive, this will lead to a reversion of recent trends that witnessed a development in independent travel.