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Top 20 ski resorts for winter 2015/16

With just one month to go until our first customers of the season take to the slopes, we thought we’d look ahead to see what’s trending so far this season.

Winter 2015/16 went on sale at the start of the year, so Iglu Ski has been selling ski holidays for most of the year already. At the end of last season we took a look at the top ski resorts of winter 2014/15, there were no surprises at the top of the list, Tignes took the crown but further down the list we were surprised to see the rise in Austria, Andorran and Italian ski resorts and the decrease in Swiss destinations.

 


If you are still deciding about where to go on your ski holiday this year and looking for some inspiration, we’ve looked at our top selling ski resorts that our customers have chosen for their winter break.

Top 20 bestselling ski resorts so far for winter 2015/16

  1. Val d’Isere
  2. Tignes
  3. St Anton
  4. Val Thorens
  5. Meribel
  6. Les Arcs
  7. La Plagne
  8. Les Deux Alpes
  9. Alpe d’Huez
  10. Courchevel
  11. Sauze d’Oulx
  12. Soldeu
  13. Ischgl
  14. Mayrhofen
  15. Obergurgl
  16. Saalbach
  17. Morzine
  18. Avoriaz
  19. La Rosiere
  20. Serre Chevalier

 

Val d’Isere and Tignes are extremely tight at the top here with passenger numbers extremely close – will St Anton, Val Thorens or Meribel finally take the top spot from the Espace Killy elite this year? It could be possible.

More people are choosing Austria over France so St Anton does have a fantastic chance. Or will they stand a chance against the resorts in the largest ski area in the world? Thousands flock to the 3 Valleys year after year, and with all the new features this season, Val Thorens or Meribel could easily seize the prime position. It is interesting to see Saalbach, Serre Chavalier and Obergurgl within the top 20, these resorts haven’t made it up here the past 2 seasons.

 

Val d'Isere

What’s new for winter 2015/16

Resorts all over Europe have been super busy this year adding in new features, lifts and upgrading older infrastructure. Here are the top 5 new additions we seen so far for winter 2015/16:


1. New 3S Penkenbahn in Mayrhofen 

No longer will you have to queue for hours at peak times to get up to the Mayrhofen ski area as the new state of the art 3S gondola has 24 seats and will take just 8.2 minutes to the top, increasing capacity and speeds up the mountain. This is brilliant news for holiday makers in this popular Austrian resorts. View more about what's new in Austrian Tirol.

2. Redevelopment of Solaise in Val d’Isere 

There is a massive project ongoing in Val d’Isere to upgrade and expand the Solaise area. This includes a new luxurious gondola to replace existing lifts, a new café and sun terrace area, plus a giant magic carpet area and regrading of a slope to make the area better for beginners. View more about what's new in Val d'Isere.

3. New lifts and new chairlifts in 3 Valleys 

There are upgrades and new lifts in the areas of Saint Martin, Les Menuires and Meribel Mottaret, plus new pistes in Val Thorens and Meribel Mottaret. View more about what's new in 3 Valleys.

4. Park City One 

Vail resorts are spending $110 million on resort improvements across their ski resorts for this ski season, including creating a new high speed gondola between Park City and Canyons to join them together to create the largest resort in the US.

5. Transitions Festival 

The largest snow festival in Europe (Snowbombing) has launched a brand new festival for this season, Transition. Snow festivals have exploded over the past few years and have been popping up all over Europe. This early season festival takes is launching in Avoriaz this December.

 

Park City

Where do we recommend for winter 2015/16

The expert Iglu Ski team have seasons of ski knowledge about ski resorts all over the world, and recommending destinations for all different types of skiers, snowboarders and abilities is what we do best.

Whilst thinking about all the new features together with our favourite ski areas, I’ve asked a few members of the team which resorts they’d recommend for this winter, here's what they have to say:

 

Lake Tahoe

Phil, Sales Team Leader - El Niño is going to hit California hard this season. I’m heading there at New Year to enjoy the deep powder in Heavenly and Squaw Valley.

Morzine

Millie, Direct Marketing Manager - I’ve got a great feeling about the Portes du Soleil area this season. If the rumours are true, we’re set to have a cold and snowy winter, meaning the lower altitude resorts like Morzine could be blessed with more of the white stuff than usual. Plus, Snowbombing’s new Transition festival hits Avoriaz in December, making the perfect excuse for an early season trip. 

Jackson Hole

James, Head of Ski Product - I’d love to get out to Jackson Hole this season, it’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go and as it’s their 50th anniversary when better than this season to get involved with the festivities. Not sure if I’d have the guts to do Corbett’s Couloir though!

Mayrhofen

Krystelle, Ski Editor -  With all the new improvements in resorts in Austrian Tirol, Mayrhofen will be a fantastic resort to visit this season. The new Penken gondola will be fantastic for quick access to the ski area and the exchange rate will make après even better value for money.

Val Thorens

Laura, Head of Digital Marketing - Continued investment in Europe’s highest resort, Val Thorens has not only brought new features added on the slope but has also seen more and more chalets becoming available to the UK market in a resort which historically offered self-catered apartments in abundance. Club Med Sensations proved to be hugely popular when it opened last year and with 3 new chalets available to book for this season, the accommodation choices are vast with some of the best ski in/ski out options in the Alps. Finally with the Great British Pound continuing to hold strong against the Euro your hard earnt cash can also go that little bit further at the notorious Folie Douce.