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This is an updated list of the latest press mentions that SkiEurope had
in daily newspapers, magazines, newsletters or on websites. Click on one of the titles below to select the article you wish to read
| For Some Skiers, the
European Alps are Now Competitive in Price with the U.S. Rockies
|
| Frommer’s Budget Travel (December 2002/January 2003)
David Howard - (. . .) The shrinking cost of European travel has made skiing
in the Alps an increasingly appealing budget proposition. These
days, for well under $1,000 – sometimes for less than $700 – you
can get a round-trip flight and seven-night stay within a few ski
lengths of Europe’s best powder.
(. . .)SkiEurope offers
(in Chamonix, France) a $798 rate for the bright, airy Hotel Pointe
Isabelle, which is two stars but feels nicer; almost all of its
39 rooms have balconies.
(. . .)SkiEurope offers
(in Courmayeur, Italy) an air-and-land package, January and late
March at the two-star Hotel Select, which has 17 austere rooms but
is only a two-minute walk to the lifts; it’s a good deal for people
who are there for the slopes, not to lounge in a room. |
| Book Review: Where
to Ski and Snowboard Worldwide |
| DCSki.com - (29 December 2002)
John Sherwood - With all the resources on skiing available on the web,
printed guidebooks have almost become obsolete. Resort websites and
ski portals such as DCSki typically provide most of the information
found in guidebooks. (…) With that being said, I must confess that
I have finally found a guidebook worth purchasing. Where to Ski and
Snowboard Worldwide is the ultimate reference for those contemplating
a ski trip to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. (…) SkiEurope
(www.ski-europe.com) will
deduct the cost of the book from any ski vacation booked by its staff
during the 2002-2003 season. |
| Even With Airfare, Europe may be Cheaper than the U.S. |
| Washington Times – (21 December 2002)
Dagan McCann -SkiEurope (www.ski-europe.com)
has created a package for the 2003 season that makes me scratch my head in disbelief. Round-trip airfare from Washington aboard Austrian
Airlines, weeklong car rental, seven nights at the five-star Ronacher Thermen Hotel, full board and free use of the wellness center with
its multitude of indoor and outdoor pools and saunas are included in the package. Priced at $1,398 per person
based on double occupancy in January, this is a great way to see and ski the Austrian Alps for a reasonable price.
Though the two regions I visited are just the tip of the slopes when it comes to skiing the Austrian Alps, they both
hold positions of distinction in that both offer superb value for a ski vacation. When compared to the prices at the resorts across
the United States, there is such a discrepancy that even with airfare included, you still come out on top by making the choice to ski in the Austrian Alps this season. |
| Ski Deals |
| Ski Magazine - (November 2002) - Innsbruck, Austria: Jan. 11 – 19; Jan 18 – 26. Round-trip
air to Munich, all transfers, seven nights’ lodging in a three-star
hotel with daily breakfast, lift tickets not included. Includes a
guided tour of Innsbruck, a toboggan excursion and a Tyrolean Folk
Night. $685 per person, double occupancy. 800-333-5533. |
| Ski Europe from $499
Airfare-Inclusive |
| BestFares.com - (05 November 2002) - SkiEurope (www.ski-europe.com)
offers great deals for airline-inclusive vacations to Europe with
departure on specific weekend dates December through March. These
SuperSki Week packages also include
lodging in two-, three- or four-star resorts, breakfasts, transfers
or rental car and taxes. Base prices are for departure from New York
City but other gateways are offered at nominal added costs. Innsbruck,
Austria is the lowest priced deal (from $499) with accommodations
at Hotel Tautermann. Travel to Chamonix, France and stay at the Hotel
Point Isabelle or travel to Courmayeur, Italy and stay at Hotel Select
from $679. Samples of $689 packages include Andorra and Interlaken,
Switzerland. |
| How to Ski Europe-Vicariously |
| Ski Canada – (Winter 2002) - Take five dedicated skiers and snowboarders, give them cameras, laptops and an unlimited budget, send them to eleven of the
coolest ski resorts in the Alps, and you have Tour the Alps 2003. Ski Canada’s western editor, George Koch, is leading the team of five
lads, which includes lead photographer Scott Smith, who’s shot several covers for the magazine, and well-known freerider Sven Brunso, who
shows up frequently in Ski Canada on either end of the photographer’s lens. The tour kicks off on January 5, and the team will ski for the
next 37 consecutive days, uploading the day’s best photos plus a fresh story every day to a dedicated website. The project is being organized
by authoritative tour operator SkiEurope, with help from Travelocity, MasterCard and other sponsors. The project’s
aim is to promote travel to the Alps. Who could object to that? |
| Val d’Isère, France:
Fresh Powder with Fine French Food |
| Money (November 2002) - (. . .) There are runs for everyone, including
beginners, and some of the most challenging lift-served off-trail
skiing in the world. The slopes sit at high altitude, so there’s
always plenty of snow from November to at least April. If that weren’t
enough, Savoie, the region where Val d’Isère is located, offers
some of the tastiest dishes you’ll find at any resort in Europe.
In January, SkiEurope
(800-333-5533, www.ski-europe.com)
is offering round-trip airfare to Geneva from New York, seven nights’
accommodations (based on double occupancy), breakfast and shuttle
transfers for $969. A six-day lift pass costs just $27 a day. |
| Destination Skiing: The European Option |
| DCSki (11 November 2002)
John Sherwood - (. . .) It is possible to book last minute trips using
the Web, but I would not recommend this approach for most travelers. Reading foreign web sites or communicating accurately with small hotel
proprietors via e-mail can be a challenge if you are not fluent in the local language. Agencies like SkiEurope
handle all these details to assure travelers the smoothest possible trip. SkiEurope also screens the hotels
it books clients into, and employs knowledgeable European skiers as agents – a big benefit for travelers unfamiliar with European ski
resorts. |
| Skiers’ Forecast: Flurry
of Deals |
| New York Times (10 November 2002)
Martha Stevenson Olson - An online purveyor of European ski packages, some of
them of very good value, is www.ski-europe.com.
For example, a Mont Blanc package includes seven nights at a three-star
hotel in Chamonix, round-trip airfare on Lufthansa from New York to
Geneva, a buffet breakfast and full dinner daily, and transfers, at
$1,190 per person. Travel dates are Jan. 10 – 18, 2003, and the package
must be booked by Dec. 5. |
| Schussing the Alps Two
River |
| Times (1 November 2002)
Linda McK. Stewart - SkiEurope, which operates
out of Houston, Texas, has compiled list of European skiing bargains,
most of them available from mid-November up through February. The
possibilities are so tempting, so astonishing, so irresistible that
it’s easy to imagine even non-skiers signing up and telling one another
that it’s less expensive to spend the week in the Alps than it is
to stay at home. And it is. |
| The Alps vs. the Rockies |
| Chicago Tribune (3 November 2002)
Dan Leeth - Some decisions are tough. For about the price of
a winter’s week in the West, you can fly to Europe and schuss the
very slopes where Alpine skiing began.
Dollars or euros? Apple pie or apple strudel? A short hop across
the plains or a long haul over the pole? There is so much to consider,
and it starts with getting there.
… “You’re going to have a totally different experience,” says Daniela
Gugliotta of SkiEurope. “You’re not
just going for the skiing. You’re going there to experience the
culture, taste the food and see things you won’t find here.” Click here for
full story |
| Europe For Less |
| Ski Magazine (November 2002)
Everett Potter - Greg Gulik took his first ski trip to Europe
last year and had the time of his life. He and his friends chose
Innsbruck, Austria, and they weren’t disappointed … “We found it
cheaper to go to Innsbruck than to Colorado. A month before our
trip, my sister paid more for five days in Vail than we did for
seven days in Austria.”
Gulik’s experience isn’t unique. Mimi Hunt and
her husband have skied in Europe every winter for the past five
years, taking their now 13-year-old son with them. “It’s such a
good deal that you can’t pass it up,” says Hunt. Like Gulik, Hunt
used a Houston-based tour operator called SkiEurope
to create their trips. Last year, SkiEurope
sent several thousand Americans to resorts such as St. Anton, Cortina,
and Zermatt. The rock-bottom deal-of-deals was a “SuperSki
Week” in Innsbruck for $500 per person,
including round-trip airfare, seven night’s lodging and daily breakfast
. . . |
| Steep and Cheap |
| Houston Chronicle (20 October 2002)
Syd Kearney - Houston-based SkiEurope
provides custom holidays to 60 resorts in six countries, including
Austria, Germany and Switzerland. SkiEurope’s
“SuperSki Week” offers among some of
the best deals available and can cost less than a comparable vacation
in the United States. We found a seven-night holiday to Innsbruck,
Austria, in January for $714. The package includes airfare from Houston,
seven nights’ lodging and breakfast daily. Call 713-960-0900; www.ski-europe.com. |
| Hot Deals |
| OnTheSnow.com (15 October 2002)
Mitch Kaplan - SkiEurope has created
SuperSki Weeks, a bevy of deals for
winter vacations in Andorra, Austria, France, Italy, or Switzerland
– 31 resorts in all, in five countries. Prices look like this: Innsbruck,
Austria, from $499; Interlaken, Switzerland, from $639; Chamonix,
France, from $679; Courmayeur, Italy, from $679; Andorra la Vella,
Andorra, from $689. Included? Round-trip airfare, economy class from
New York JFK to a gateway airport in Europe; seven nights’ hotel quality
accommodations; daily buffet breakfast, or in some cases, buffet breakfast
and dinner daily; self-drive rental car; local taxes and service charges
in Europe. Do the Continental – call 800-333-5533. |
| Ski la France |
| Travel Agent (14 October 2002)
Maria Lisella - When you visit SkiEurope’s
web site (www.ski-europe.com),
you can subscribe to its newsletter. Click on “Chamonix” for an example
of the “SuperSki Week” package, which
includes round-trip airfare from New York, seven nights’ accommodations,
buffet breakfast daily or breakfast and dinner daily, a car rental,
and local taxes and service charges for $679 per person double. Call
800-333-5533. |
| Big Deal – Buy Now, Ski Later |
| National Geographic Adventure (October 2002) - No, actually, it’s not too early to think about snow sports. The best of the many book-early bargains: the sale on January
trips to Courmayeur, Italy ($725), Zermatt, Switzerland ($898), and
Val d’Isère, France ($949), at SkiEurope
(www.ski-europe.com). Rates
include airfare from New York and seven nights’ lodging. |
| Best Fares: Getting
into the Spirit of Deals |
| Dallas Morning News (17 August 2002)
Tom Parsons - Houston-based SkiEurope
(www.ski-europe.com) offers
packages to Europe for the price of a U.S. ski vacation. A $675 package
departing January 11 takes you to Salzburg, Austria, via Swiss International
Air Lines and provides seven nights at the three-star Hotel Centro.
Ski Germany with a $759 package to Germany departing November 9 (air
travel to Munich). This package includes seven nights at the four-star
Hotel Regent. Prices are from New York but low-cost add-on fares are
available |
| Let it Snow |
| Money Magazine (October 2002)
Megan Johnston -SkiEurope (800-333-5533;
www.ski-europe.com) has early
booking deals available for January. For $589 per person, you get
seven nights at the four-star Sailer Hotel in Innsbruck, Austria,
including breakfast and round-trip airfare from New York City (from
Chicago, add $70, from Los Angeles, $230; other departure cities available).
Or visit Italy's chic Cortina d'Ampezzo for $989 per person from New
York City. The price includes airfare to Venice, seven nights at the
Hotel Bellevue, breakfast and seven-day car rental. All prices assume
double occupancy, lift tickets not included. |
| Hot Deals
|
| Travel and Leisure (26 June 2002)
Ann M. Shields -
The Deal: The Fourth of July approaches and it's
time to think SKI. Well, at least if you want to think about cool
places, clothing that covers more than your beach togs do, and savings.
SkiEurope is offering a couple of
sweet deals that haven't even made it onto their website yet. For
instance, next January, you can get roundtrip airfare from New York
to Venice, shuttle transfer to Cortina d'Ampezzo, and seven night's
accommodations with breakfast.
The hotel is walking distance from the ski lifts
and has a jacuzzi and sauna to relieve those aching muscles after
a day in the Dolomites. Oh, and the whole thing costs $720. The
airfare to Aspen alone would probably cost you that. Though the
deal isn't listed on the site yet, you can read there about Cortina
and what the slopes and town have to offer the humble American skier.
And you can call to book it now, while the slopes are still green
and covered with wildflowers. |
| Playing With Matches
|
| The Vail Trail (29 March 2002)
Laura Bell - Tired of trying to find a ski resort that meets
the specific needs of you or your family? What if you want to brush
up on your Italian and German during a ski vacation, or if you are
on a limited budget and don't want to venture too far from home?
Rather than spend hours surfing the Internet, calling
travel agents or polling friends and family for suggestions, a few
simple clicks will help you find your ideal destination. SkiMatcher.com
was designed for the savvy traveler. As its name suggests, SkiMatcher
matches the individual's needs with the resort's specifications…This
one of a kind website, run by SkiEurope,
a Texas-based company, was initially launched in November 2000 exclusively
to subscribers of SkiEurope's newsletter…After
some tweaking, the service was made available to the general public.
To find your ideal resort, log onto: www.SkiMatcher.com |
| Engelberg, Switzerland |
| The National Ski Club Newsletter (March-April 2002) Bob Wilbanks - I asked SkiEurope to
show me one of those small, scenic European villages with excellent
skiing but that are relatively unknown to most American skiers - in
other words, one of Europe's "secret" ski resorts. That's how I ended
up in central Switzerland on a quiet SwissRail electric-powered train
heading for Lucerne, then to the village of Engelberg, about 35 kilometers
in the mountains above Lucerne via a cog-rail train. |
| Clubs Plan for Next
Season in Alps |
| The National Ski Club Newsletter (March-April 2002) Ted Heck - Houston-based SkiEurope
is one of the most successful tour operators in sending groups or
individuals to the Alps. In a recent issue of this magazine President
Richard Davidson said there is more to consider about a trip than
its price.
Nevertheless, SkiEurope's
comprehensive website, www.ski-europe.com
advertises vacations in the Alps for as little as $569 for airfare
and hotel, depending on city or origin, destination, and class of
hotel. |
| To Europe Again
|
| OnTheSnow.com (March 2002) Ted Heck -
When the Alpine Tourist Commission invited me to
join them on a press information tour to Kitzbühel and Garmisch-Partenkirchen,
I thought about it for four seconds and said "yes." So, I am currently
in Germany visiting two of my favorite resorts. The trip is co-sponsored
by the ATC, Austrian Tourist Office, German National Tourist Office,
SkiEurope, and American Airlines.
I flipped when I got the final itinerary. Our group
will be skiing In Kitzbühel with instructors from the famous Red
Devils ski school for two days. Then we move to Garmisch for two
more days of skiing, one of them atop the Zugspitze, Germany's highest
mountain. It will be "Old Home Week" for me. It was there that I
first stepped onto skis 56 years ago and got hooked. Click here for
full story |
| Kitz to Garmisch |
| OnTheSnow.com (March 2002) Ted Heck - SkiEurope, which
has been sending Americans to 60 resorts in six countries for 17 years, works closely with the Alpine Tourist Commission and its
member countries. Its staff, like Dorothea and Marlen, are multi-lingual.
Our group of writers on this trip was also accompanied by Sigrid Pilcher of the Austrian Tourist Office in New York, and
Richard Rehindorf, of the German National Tourist Office, also in NYC. They are two young persons who made sure we didn't miss a landmark,
except when they were too far downhill to be heard. Click here for full
story |
| Late Season Deal Finder |
| Inside Tracks (15 March 2002) - SuperSki Weeks: Roundtrip
air, ground transfers or rental car, and seven nights' lodging in
a three-star hotel with daily breakfast, in Zermatt (April 5, 12,
19 departures) from $938 pp/do; from $949 in St. Anton (April 6 departure);
from $959 in Saas-Fee (April 12, 19 departures); from $969 in St.
Moritz (April 12 departure); from $998 in Val d'Isére (April 5, 12,
19 departures); and from $1,048 in Chamonix (April 5, 12 departures).
Lift tickets additional. SkiEurope,
(800) 333-5533, www.ski-europe.com |
| Alps: Been There, Done
That? |
|
Inside Tracks (1 March 2002) - Of the leading U.S. specialists in Alpine ski trips,
we especially like SkiEurope (www.ski-europe.com).
Go to their SkiMatcher, answer a series
of questions with a click (your interests, budget, ski ability, travel
timeframe, etc.), and they'll come up with some suggestions. If you
think you know where you want to go, you can also click on destination
information for phenomenally detailed information on 60 resorts in
six countries. Want to know where to ski if you're a beginning, intermediate,
advanced or competition-level skier? Want the scoop on kids' programs,
rentals, cross-country skiing, sightseeing, dining, nightlife? That
information is also just a click away. You can even sign up to receive
SkiEurope's e-mail newsletter for news
and updates on the Alps. |
| Europe's Hills are High,
but Prices Aren't |
| The Palm Beach Post (13 January 2002)
Everett Potter - For many skiers and snowboarders, a trip to the
Arlberg region of Austria or to the French Alps is not merely a vacation.
It's more like a winter pilgrimage to the cradle of alpine sports.
"It's not just skiing," says Richard
Davidson, president of SkiEurope,
a Houston-based tour operator that specializes in European ski vacations.
"You ski Europe because of the overall experience. It's a combination
of where you stay, the atmosphere and the access you have to different
cultural and historic opportunities. . .If you compare apples and
apples," Davidson says, "in most cases it's less expensive to go
to Europe than to the Rockies." |
| State of the World Ski
Industry |
| The National Ski Club Newsletter (January-February 2002)
Richard Davidson -Skiers are a very resilient lot. Immediately following
9-11, almost 70% of skiers said they had not changed their plans to
take at least one overnight trip during the season. Beginners and
intermediates were the least confident and only 7% said they would
not fly. My opinion is, if the key ingredient - good snowfall - is
there, and if there are no further serious shocks, (two very big "ifs")
it will be a reasonably successful season. |
| Winter Vacation Packages
to Europe are a Bargain and Easy to Sell |
| Network (January-February 2002)
Kerstin Sabene - According to Richard Davidson, (president of SkiEurope)
SkiEurope has made a dedicated effort
to identify travel agents who do sell ski packages as well as those
agents who sell to Europe with the potential of becoming interested
in winter vacation packages. However, he indicated the number of calls
about skiing has decreased since the Internet with a higher portion
of ski products being sold on the Internet. Davidson said that large
portions of their bookings are now being sold via the Internet and
that this figure has doubled every year for the last few years. |
| Americans, Make Yourself
at Home on European Slopes |
| The
Kansas City Star (6 January 2002) Anne Z. Cooke - …Most ski areas are no more challenging or dangerous
than those at home, according to Dorothea Rasser, a spokeswoman for
SkiEurope, a ski tour company based
in Houston. Nor do language differences pose problems because most
Europeans speak English. "Americans have a
psychological block about skiing the Alps," says Rasser, who grew
up in Austria. "American travelers aren't as independent as Europeans.
They worry about not being able to communicate, about having to
share a bathroom with strangers, about ordering strange food. Really,
our biggest challenge is convincing people to try it the first time." Click here for
full story |
| Pascal's Pearl |
| Ski Canada (Winter 2002)
George Koch - Val d'Anniviers begins at Sierre, Canton Valais, Switzerland.
Sierre is reachable by train or freeway from Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland's
two main airports. Val d'Anniviers is accessible by local bus from
Sierre train station or by car. Skiing villages are Grimentz, St.
Luc, Chandolin, Vercorin and Zinal. Air Canada has daily non-stop
flights between Zurich and Toronto. For more information: To plan
a complete European ski holiday, try SkiEurope,
800-333-5533, www.ski-europe.com. |
| Deal Finder: Mid-Season
$-Savers |
| Inside Tracks (January 2002)
Innsbruck, Austria - SuperSki Week: Roundtrip
air from New York, ground transportation, seven nights at the four-star
Hotel Sailer, daily breakfast and daily ski bus, $659 pp/do. Departure
tax and lift pass are additional. (800-333-5533) or www.ski-europe.com. Departure dates: Jan. 12 and 25. |
| Continental Lifts: Why
This is the Year to Go |
| Travel & Leisure (January 2002)
Meg Lukens Noonan - It generally costs less to fly from the East Coast
to Europe in winter than to the Rockies; transatlantic fares this
year should be even more affordable. Specialist agencies that buy
in bulk from airlines and resorts are a good source for packages,
which tend to include airfare, airport transfers, and one or two meals
a day. A Kitzbühel package from SkiEurope
(800-333-5533; www.ski-europe.com)
includes seven nights in a four-star hotel, airfare, a rental car,
and breakfast, and costs as little as $960 a person (all prices are
subject to availability). |
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