‘Winter sports firms must adapt’, says Inghams overseas operations chief

The winter tourism season is becoming shorter and snow conditions increasingly unpredictable due to the warming climate, with Alpine temperatures rising twice as fast as the world’s average.

Rachel Ducoin-Smith, head of overseas operations at Inghams, argued tour operators “must adapt to uncertainty” when she spoke at the Abta Sustainable Travel Conference last month, presenting a stark picture of how rapidly conditions in the Alps are changing.

Ducoin-Smith reported winter tourism makes up “more than three-quarters of our programme”, saying: “For years we’ve sought the best conditions.” 

More: Ski specialists predict ‘healthy future’ amid climate change concern

But she said: “Something has shifted. Alpine temperatures are rising at double the global average. The season is shorter [and] the snow conditions are unpredictable. It’s affecting water security [and] producing extreme events.”

She noted thawing permafrost is leading to more rockfalls and said: “There have been at least 30 avalanche deaths this season [in the Alps], including five from Britain and four who were with a guide.”

Inghams is “less vulnerable” than some because “most of our offering is at higher altitudes”, she said, but added: “The reality is that wherever you operate or visit, there are climate and nature risks.”

Ducoin-Smith argued: “In the short term, we need to adapt for uncertainty. We’ve had a season when we had to start with insufficient snow and a winter when we had to bus guests to another resort.”

This winter, she said “extremely heavy snow in the valleys” meant Inghams decided to move 500 guests out of one resort early.

She said “it wasn’t a decision taken lightly”, but noted there was a risk of “dangerous and stressful” transfers and guests missing their flights.

Ducoin-Smith told the conference the normalising of uncertainty “means responsible decisions, collaboration with competitors and trust in local knowledge”.

She said: “It’s important to combine destination expertise and customer service. We can’t control the climate, but we can control how we treat people. We should support bold and responsible decisions by operators and not criticise them.”

Ducoin-Smith added that Inghams “considers a destination’s sustainability policies” when choosing where to operate, insisting: “Destinations that are diversifying will be more resilient and we as operators will be more resilient too.”