DESTINATIONS SKIING ACCESSIBLE TOURISM


SAMPLE PRODUCT


Inghams has seven nights’ half-board in an accessible room at the Araucaria


Hotel in La Plagne from £1,159 per person. The price includes flights and transfers. inghams.co.uk


Disabled Holidays offers bespoke packages for skiers with


disabilities and limited mobility. A week in Val Thorens in


France’s Trois


Vallées starts at £4,300 for two people travelling together. The price includes flights to Geneva, transfers and half-board at the Le Hameau du Kashmir hotel, plus private ski tuition, equipment rental and lift passes.


disabledholidays. com


LEFT: Tandem skiing ABOVE: La Plagne’s Go To Ski BELOW: The purpose-built Avoriaz resort


everything under one roof – shops, bars, restaurants and entertainment. It’s a typical brutalist product of the 1960s, but very practical nonetheless. La Plagne Centre is easier on the eye and is one of the resorts ski specialist Inghams recommends. The four-star Araucaria Hotel is by the ski school meeting point and the chairlifts, and has an accessible spa. Joanna Willis-Thomson, general manager for Inghams France, says: “Most of our properties have accessible apartments or rooms for guests with limited mobility. The Araucaria is great in that it has three rooms that fit into this category, as well as modern facilities and accessible public areas. This hotel was new to our programme last winter and we have customers with limited mobility who stayed here last year looking to book with us again for the winter season.”


 EXTRA CONSIDERATION It’s not just the equipment that can make holidaymakers favour certain resorts. Some resorts, including


Some resorts, including Megève and Courchevel, have heated pavements so the snow disappears more swiftly


Megève and Courchevel, have heated pavements so the snow disappears more swiftly, which makes moving about that much easier. Clients who have less able skiers in their groups need to take their needs into account when choosing accommodation. They should look out for hazards that aren’t immediately noticeable, such as steep slopes to the entrance that can be tough enough for able-bodied people to tackle, let alone someone with limited mobility. While many skiers prefer ski-in ski-


out accommodation, this can be less than ideal for disabled skiers who find


themselves stuck halfway up a slope. To give clients a rounder experience, it can be more practical for them to stay in a village that has a lively life of its own outside skiing, but still has easy access to the lifts. Val d’Isère, Morzine, Megève and Samoëns in France and Kitzbühel and Ischgl in Austria all have plenty to do off the slopes. A good compromise between ski-in ski-out and a village atmosphere is Avoriaz. This purpose-built resort in the Portes du Soleil has direct access to the pistes, as well as a buzzing ambience, a water park and a huge indoor accessible spa. Hannah Eldridge, Inghams’ agency


sales executive, says: “We advise agents to spend time speaking to skiers with limited mobility to identify their individual needs, as well as their aspirations for their holidays, so we can find the most suitable hotel, travel and ski arrangements for them. It’s particularly important to understand their existing level of ski experience and how independent they want to be on their mountain holiday.”


64travelweekly.co.uk13 December 2018


PICTURE: PHILIPPE ROYER; SHUTTERSTOCK; PIERRE AUGIER; ANTENNE HANDICAP


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