Low-cost ski destinations for 2006 launched

After the sweltering summer Brits' choice of where to cool-off is set to be dominated by low-cost, high-quality ski-breaks, lastminute.com said today.

The online travel company based their predictions on last year's ski sales, which were up 20 per cent on 2004, and are confident of similar growth this year.

Canada and Bulgaria were named by the site as the top two ski destinations for this summer, thanks to their relatively low-costs and high quality facilities.

"For Canada lead-in prices of £299 last year meant that it was possible to hop over the Pond for a ski break as easily as it was to go to Europe, this naturally meant Canadian resorts became more accessible to more people who had previously been unable to afford it," said John Bevan, travel director of lastminute.com.

He added: "The secret of Bulgaria’s success is over-delivering on expectations. Last year people went there to see what it was like, and feedback from our customers has proven that the quality of the accommodation, runs and lifts surpassed expectations meaning this year they’ll be heading back for their main snow break."

In response to the demand for low-cost ski destinations, the website has introduced packages to ski resorts in Slovenia, Romania and Serbia for the winter season.

The site also finds more Brits are heading for the snow, but not necessarily for skiing.

Mr Bevan explained: "We are already seeing strong consumer interest in our winter offering and we are hoping the introduction of our winter activity holidays will attract more bookings from people who don’t usually take a snowy holiday."

Two such trips include rally driving in Swedish Lapland - £1,086 for a three-night trip - and a three-night spa break in Latvia - £310