SNOW is becoming an unpredictable commodity and ski resorts threatened by the big melt are turning to other activities to keep attracting visitors.

One of Scotland’s five resorts, Aviemore, has just announced a £30 million facelift to transform it into a year-round holiday playground. Plans for July 2004 include activities such as mountain biking, white-water rafting, clay pigeon shooting and off-road driving, together with indoor leisure complexes to house a spa, beauty centre and six-lane pool and a 1,000-seat conference and exhibition hall.

But demand for winter holidays so far shows no sign of abating. Last season, for the first time, a million Britons took a wintersports holiday, a 25 per cent rise in numbers over 1999, largely fuelled by the growth in selforganised skiing trips.

New routes, such as Ryanair to Klagenfurt and Austrian Airlines direct to Innsbruck, have helped to boost the demand. The continued rise of budget airlines has also helped to reduce the price of snowsports holidays, down from an average £642 in 2001-02 to £615 last winter, according to the Ski Club of Great Britain.

Operators remain nervous about long-term prospects for the wintersports market, and many, including Esprit, Ski Famille and Mark Warner, actively target young families in an attempt to build a solid platform for future sales. Discounts for early bookings are being heavily promoted, with some astonishing bargains even before the lifts have opened.

The ski operator Descent International yesterday offered a chalet in Méribel sleeping 16 for one week in January for £14,760: a saving of more than £8,000. Facilities include an outdoor hot tub, private cinema and steam room: just the place from which to sit back and admire the green, snowless valleys in years to come.

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