It is with great sadness that Ski Olympic, after 38 years of trading, have finally hung up their skis as yet another UK chalet tour operator ceases trading. It should be stated that Olympic have not failed financially but post Brexit running a tour operation offers lower returns with higher costs, higher risks, and a bemusing amount of paperwork and regulations that prior to 2020 did not occur.
Ski Olympic’s website front page now simply displays a goodbye message.
Olympic was a family run business located in Doncaster, being set up by husband and wife team; Bernie and Maggy Osborne. Their son, Jarrod, took over the reigns some years back and was MD until they finally closed their doors just a few days ago. In their heyday Olympic had a substantial programme as an independent ski tour operator with chalets and chalet hotels across the French alps including Courchevel 1650, Courchevel 1550, La Rosiere, La Plagne, Meribel, and Tignes to name a few. Whilst operations were scaled back more recently to just one chalet hotel and two chalets in Vallandry (Les Arcs) guests still enjoyed that Northern hospitality that the company was famed for.
Writing this in April as Vallandry has just received a mega-dump of over 100 cm of snow fills us, at Snowfinders, with sadness as yet another UK ski tour operator closes its doors – thanks Mr Cameron!
To lose another partner is depressing but to lose our friends in Ski Olympic, even more so. Thanks for the memories Jarrod, Sharon and Cath – hopefully we will meet again on the pistes.
