French Ski School Attempts to Ban British Ski Hosting

According to this week's Sunday Times, if the French Ski School, Ecole du Ski Francais (ESF), has its way there will be no more free ski hosting provided by British tour operators in the French Alps.

Many British ski holiday operators provide ski hosting free of charge to their customers, it's a great way for skiers to get to know a new ski resort, or have an opportunity to ski with a group rather than on their own.

ESF believe that British ski operator's ski hosting services are breaking French law, because although most British ski hosts have spent many years in France's most popular ski resorts they are generally not qualified as guides or instructors.

It is the law in France that anyone leading groups of skiers or snowboarders must be a qualified ski instructor, which can take a significant investment in time and money to achieve.

The ESF has now decided to take Yorkshire based specialist ski operator, Le Ski, to court. Le Ski offers chalet holidays in the popular ski resorts of Courchevel, La Tania and Val d'Isere.

Many larger ski operators have expressed their support for Le Ski and reasserted that their ski hosts do not guide, instruct or go off piste - all services which they generally recommend customers go to ESF for.

Whether you prefer to ski with friends, a ski host or join a ski school, it's very important to get the right ski insurance for your trip and check that you are covered for all the winter sports activities that you intend to take part in.

The most important reason to buy ski insurance is to ensure that you are covered for emergency medical treatment as a result of being injured on the slopes.

Get a quote for ski insurance >>

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