Greedy tour operators are harming skiing, says boss of Alpine Elements and IGOSKI

(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - December 8th, 2011 - Britain's big ski tour operators are buying up Alpine chalets to push out competitors so they can charge more for their holidays, it is claimed.

The attack was made by entrepreneur James Hardiman, 35, dynamic founder of Alpine Elements and IGOSKI.
'Britain's biggest companies are actually operating in a way that harms the business and it is bad for consumers,' he said. 'With venture capital they are scouring the Alps for good chalets and buying them up – often paying over the odds to freeze out smaller, niche-business competitors.

Ultimately they corner the market to charge the customer more. 'The really big operators are of course trying to get to a monopoly position.

They are money first customers second,' he added. Hands-on boss James created his company from scratch after working his way up from a chalet boy with SkiBound.

Alpine Elements is now big enough to get good deals for clients and small enough to care about the customer. 'For instance if you are going on holiday with us we ring you up the day before to see what we can do to help and to offer last-minute advice,' the boarding fanatic explained. He added: 'This is a service no
other tour operator could dream of.'

His sister company iGOSKI gained success by offering what the customer wants: keenly priced short-break ski trips. Popular destinations include Les Gets, Meribel, Morzine and Chamonix.

The Good Ski Guide has long been campaigning for short ski breaks – not least because they usually cost less and don't use up all your holiday time. Yet up until ten years ago operators only provided one or two-week expensive packages, which were often not suitable. iGOSKI specialises in a bargain-price Sunday to Wednesday for under £300 - a boon for those of us who have busy lifestyles; or a Wednesday to Sunday break for under £400.

The young ski crusader's motto: 'we aim to give back to skiing what the Big Boys are taking out'. Good luck to him we at GSG say! For more information, visit our Ski Holidays.

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