The mountains in winter only celebrate a New Year's Eve sell-out

For the Christmas and New Year holidays along the Alpine arc, slightly fewer Italians will stay, slightly more foreigners. Will there be a sell-out? Most probably for New Year's Eve, depending on the location and the contribution that will come from incoming customers from abroad. The same variability is linked to the snow. On the slopes, thanks to the contribution of programmed snow, the white mantle is not lacking but not everywhere is it possible to immerse oneself in a winter landscape. Fortunately for downhill and cross-country enthusiasts, the forecast is favourable.

At the foot of Mont Blanc Courmayeur is partly whitewashed. The local Hoteliers' Association reports that the booking trend for the coming weeks looks good, with no downturn compared to last year. In particular for the key days of the winter season, from 22 to 29 December and from 29 to Epiphany, the operators' sentiment is very positive.

A purely international clientele at the Valtur Cervinia Cristallo Ski Resort, a five-star resort at an altitude of 2,000 metres. "As of today (20 December 2024 ndr) for Christmas we expect an occupancy rate of 88% while for New Year's Eve we will be completely sold out - explains Giuseppee Pagliara, managing director of the Nicolaus Valtur Group -. Three quarters of the guests are foreigners: a good number come from the United Kingdom but also Israel, Sweden, Denmark and 14% come from the United States". In the Piedmont area of the Via Lattea, in the hotels and flats managed by the Abc Group, an availability of about 1,300 beds, some hotels are going towards a full house thanks to the work of foreign tour operators who 'sell' the destination especially to customers from the United Kingdom. Overall, the customer mix will see 40% foreign guests and the remainder Italians.

Moving on to Livigno in Lombardy, after a good start to the season with an above-average attendance trend in recent years, we are preparing for a Christmas without a full house but with an excellent occupancy rate of around 90 per cent. In other words, for latecomers there is some chance to celebrate Christmas by skiing on the slopes of Italy's 'little Tibet'. On the other hand, New Year's week is almost certain to be sold out because the occupancy rate is 97%.

"Bookings are up by 7% in the area ranging from Madonna di Campiglio to Pinzolo and Lake Idro," says Tullio Serafini, president of the Madonna di Campiglio Tourist Board, where it snowed on Thursday. "Positive values and there are still some rooms available. The average daily rate and revenue per room are also on the rise'. Prospects are also positive in Cortina d'Ampezzo, where several hotels are under construction or renovation. Based on bookings up to 19 December, a drop in arrivals emerges, which becomes more evident between New Year's Eve and the Epiphany. Thus between Christmas and New Year the occupancy rate will be around 72.2% compared to 79.4% the previous year. From 1 January to Epiphany, barring the arrival of last minute bookings, a double-digit drop is expected: from 75.7% to 59.4%. Italian tourists are expected to fall (-3.6%), but US (+1.8%) and British (+3.3%) tourists are expected to grow. "The outlook is positive, as the trend is for late bookings. To date, the volume of pre-booking enquiries is maintaining a similar pace to last year," explains Josep Ejarque, destination manager for Cortina. "Italian guests are waiting for a combination of factors such as good snow conditions and slope crowding to book. Arrivals from international markets will increase. Indirect confirmation comes from Gherardo Manaigo, owner of the historic Hotel de la Poste in Cortina. "The average occupancy rate between now and the end of March is 83.4 per cent," he emphasises. "In December we will have a full house with many Italians, Americans, Germans and Irish. Maybe we will have more rooms'.