From winter sports to traditional Christmas events, destinations across the world are offering an expansive range of winter tourism products and the travel trade can tap this goldmine to leverage on its immense popularity among Indian travellers By Sudipta Dev
The winter season has always been considered the best time for family vacations, albeit the recent years have witnessed an increasing number of Indian travellers, in particular the adrenaline junkies, getting hooked to winter sport activities and events to bring in the new year with a dash of adventure. From Christmas markets in Austria to dog sledding competitions in Alaska, from skiing in Auli to watching the colourful Aurora Bourealis (Northern Lights) in Norway, the attractions are many and varied for those opting for a holiday in sub-zero environs, both in India and overseas. With new destinations joining the fray, Christmas/ winter tourism is a segment that has immense growth potential in the future as awareness about the varied product offerings increase in the market.
With activities including skiing, snow tubing, snowball fighting, snowmobile safari, and many more, the popular winter tourism destinations are Europe, including Switzerland, and the Nordic countries that are home to Santa Claus, along with the US, Australia and New Zealand. Cox & Kings has been observing around 15-20 per cent increase in bookings in winter/ Christmas tourism and the growth in the coming years, according to Karan Anand—head, relationships, Cox & Kings, should be in line with the same. “Earlier, the interest in winter sports/ activities was limited to a specific set of travellers like solo or young travellers aged between 18-35 years. However, in the past few years, winter tourism has become a trend among families and women travellers too,” mentions Anand. The company offers special packages with focus on Christmas and Santa Claus, which includes visiting Helsinki and Rovaniemi-the Santa Claus village, traditional Christmas Eve dinner, snowmobile safari with ice-fishing, exploring the husky and reindeer farm and Ranua wildlife park.
The expectations of travellers have increased and is changing according to the trends. Vishal Suri, CEO-Tour Operating, Kuoni India avers, “They plan their holidays and choose the destinations based on the events. Travellers are looking forward to explore everything – attractive tourist destinations, food, shopping and mainly the culture, which one can understand through such events or cultural activities that are held annually mainly for tourists.”
Europe takes the top spot in terms of winter vacations with most of the countries, by holding events ranging from quaint Christmas markets to international winter sport activities. For instance, from November to end of December hundreds of Christmas markets are organised in Copenhagen selling local products, decorations and warm wine, as the cafes and restaurants in the city are lit up for the festivities. For winter activities Giuseppe Liverino, project manager, Wonderful Copenhagen, recommends the second oldest amusement park in the world – Tivoli Gardens, in the city centre. “Indians love the atmosphere in Tivoli Gardens with its restaurants, high class bars, a five star hotel. From India market we have seen 30 per cent growth and next year more is expected. It is the safest city in the world and Indians love the nightlife,” says Liverino, adding that the Carlsberg Visitor Centre is packed with Indians who also like to try the local micro breweries. The castles in the outskirts of Copenhagen are open in winters with the snow-covered surroundings looking breathtakingly beautiful.
St Moritz and the Engadin Valley is well known for its legendary winter sports and events held annually on the frozen lake and in partnership with luxury hotels of the region. Winter in the Engadin Valley commences with the first event on December 5 – The St Moritz City Race- a cross country and ski race where the slopes are relocated into the village of St Moritz. “We also have Indian tourists who are interested in unique events such as Cricket on Ice on an artificially crafted pitch on the frozen lake of St Moritz. Or the Snow Polo World Cup, introduced in 1985 as the first Polo World Cup tournament played on snow, and by now is the most important Snow Polo tournament in the world. We have also had Indian visitors attending the horse races at the White Turf, a tradition dating back to 1907, and the exciting races by night at Night Turf St Moritz,” states Mirjam Bruder, head of markets and business development, Tourism Organisation Engadin St Moritz. Indian travellers enjoy learning how to ski and snowboard either in a group or in private lessons at The Swiss Ski School St Moritz, which is the oldest and largest ski school in Switzerland. “Couples and families love a horse carriage ride that takes guests into the forest and alongside the frozen lakes of the Engadin Valley into the enchanted winter wonderland. Guests do not want to miss the experience of visiting the highest casino in Switzerland – Casino St Moritz, the Swiss Alp’s jewel, at 1850 meters,” she adds.
While St Moritz is famous for its luxury heritage properties like the Kulm Hotel and the Badrutt’s Palace, hotels owned by Indian hoteliers such as Nira Alpina and the mountain hotel Diavolezza serving Indian thalis are popular.
MICE on ice
One of the interesting aspects of visitor profile to St Moritz has been the growing MICE segment. “The valley offers a glorious natural setting for meetings and events. The modern Rondo Convention Centre, numerous top-class seminar and conference hotels are available as venues for all kinds of events with up to 500 participants,” mentions Bruder.
In Europe, according to Suri, Russia exhibits endless capabilities and enormous potential as a MICE destination, primarily because the country is driven to provide more and more unique and innovative solutions for business travellers from all over the world. “Numerous world chain business and luxury hotels, high quality hospitality, gourmet and authentic restaurants, modern trades, exhibition and sport complexes, business centres, the most up-to-date congress halls and sophisticated entertainment venues have been created in Russia within the last 20 years and not only in major cities like Moscow and St Petersburg but also in another regions of the country,” points out Suri, adding that foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and other businesses located in St Petersburg, prove to be a major trade getaway. Other emerging winter MICE getaways are countries like Slovenia, Sweden and Denmark.
Winter adventure
Across the Atlantic, the US and Canada have been attracting winter travellers from India, both family crowd and adventure lovers. Skiing is possible in over 30 US states and resorts offer unique locations, from lakeside to under the Northern Lights. “From the Sierra Nevada mountains in California to the Green Mountains in New England, across the US skiers will be able to find an array of different slopes to choose from,” states David Whitaker, chief marketing officer, Brand USA, reminding that ice-skating is another quintessential winter activity for travellers. Visitors can glide across the Rockefeller Center’s renowned rink in New York, National Gallery of Art Sculptor Garden in Washington DC, Millennium Park ie rink in Chicago and Boston Common Frog Pond to name a few. Other popular activities unique to the US are dog sledding in Alaska and Maine, snowkiting in New England and snow tubing in Pennsylvania.
Brand USA expects a positive growth in this segment from the India market. Whitaker acknowledges that the Indian travel market is maturing and there is a higher demand for outdoor activities, new experiences and destinations. “India also has one of the world’s youngest populations who want to indulge in outdoor activities and experience high adrenaline rush. In addition, families also enjoy the winter season as this is also the best time for shopaholics, as some of the biggest sales send prices plummeting with the temperature,” he adds, pointing out that one of the advantages of travelling in winter season is that one can experience amazing experiences at unbelievable off-season rates.
New Zealand is one the world’s ultimate destinations when it comes to adventure activities, and winter sporting events are no exception. The country has been playing host to many important winter events like ‘The American Express Queenstown Winter Festival’ for the last 40 years, while the Coronet Cup attracts some of the most skilled skiers in the Southern Hemisphere. There is also the Gay Ski Week to offer, which is a week long event featuring dancing, cabaret shows, on mountain action and adventures and more. The Audi Quattro Winter Games is another tourist attraction where the world’s top winter athletes come together in New Zealand to battle it out on the slopes. “Winter in New Zealand is a series of activities and kiwi celebrations. Bidding adieu to the autumn, we welcome our visitors for some snow-filled fun. The Queenstown and Wanaka alpine resort towns set the winter ski holiday feel. For winter holidaymakers wanting to take a day off from skiing and snowboarding, New Zealand’s ski regions offer some quirky fun-filled snow-related activities. Off-piste outdoor winter experiences include guided snow shoe treks, snow tubing, bungy jumping, glacier hikes and scenic flights to spectacular landscapes that are otherwise not easily accessible,” says Steven Dixon, regional manager, South and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand.
Specially recommend in New Zealand is a self-drive tour through snow-capped landscapes, stopping along the way to take in the local cuisine. The winter season also happens to be the best time for whale and seal spotting. “With 15,134 kilometers of coastline and one of the most diverse collections of marine life in the world, spotting mammals such as whales and seals is especially likely at this time of the year,” informs Dixon.
India’s snow getaways
Destinations in India that have been attracting inbound travellers particularly for winter activities and adventure are Auli and Munsiyari, Uttarakhand; Zanskar Valley, Ladakh; Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh; Gulmarg and Pahalgam, J&K; Yumthang Valley, Sikkim; and Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. “Over the past years, there has been a rise in the number of people travelling to snowy destinations in winter. Winter activities like skiing are gaining popularity among domestic travellers,” mentions Mohit Poddar, founder of experiential holiday company, Shoes on Loose.
While the arduous Chadar Trek on the frozen Zanskar river has grown in popularity over the years, a new interesting route and activity being tapped in Ladakh is the Snow Leopard Tracking Circuit. “The new age traveller does not prefer the regular hill stations that are already done to death, he is always looking for something offbeat with unique experiences. The modern traveller is more experimental and wants to taste a variety of flavours, adventure being on the top of every one’s bucket list,” adds Poddar. While for adventure lovers camping in the snow or in the hills provide an adrenaline rush, for high-end travellers and MICE, the following properties are recommended – Cliff Top Club Resort – Auli; Aamod Tethys – Narkanda; Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa – Gulmarg; Denzong Regency – Gangtok (near Yumthang).
According to HolidayIQ statistics, adventure travel is a new favourite among couple travellers and account for 52 per cent of adventure holidays in India, followed by larger groups at 21 per cent, family travellers at 18 per cent, and single travellers at nine per cent. Interesting adventure events coming to India includes the World Ski Championship. “Travel is increasingly becoming experience-led instead of destination led. On HolidayIQ, we have seen a marked growth in the interest in experiential holidays in the last 18-24 months,” says Hari Nair, founder and CEO, HolidayIQ. More interest in off-beat destinations and adventure activities can be seen in travellers from metros such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi.