Australian Families Hit the Slopes

The growing popularity of ski holidays for Australian families has prompted Holidays with Kids magazine to produce the country’s first-ever family ski magazine.

And to celebrate the mogul move in publishing, Holidays with Kids magazine is offering families a special, five-day ski holiday for less than $2000.

The new value-packed deal from Alpine World includes five nights apartment accommodation in Jindabyne, five-day hire of parkas, pants, skis, stocks and boots for the family and a 3½ day flexi ski lift pass at Thredbo.

Priced at $1904 per family, the package is valid for two adults and two children aged 5-14 from June 6-27 and August 31-October 5, 2008. Booking details and more information are available on Holidays with Kids magazine’s website – www.holidayswithkids.com.au

The new autumn edition of Holidays with Kids, in newsagents on May 7, is the biggest in the magazine’s 12 year history – a bumper 228-page ‘flip’ publication including a dedicated 98-page family Ski and Snowboard magazine – the first ski publication in Australia published just for families.

The ‘flip’ ski magazine – tailored to both novice and advanced skiers, big and small – will be published annually as a stand-alone magazine from 2009.

And for the first time, Holidays with Kids magazine has been selected by US distributors for sale in the USA.

Holidays with Kids magazine editor Cathy Wagstaff said the new family ski edition followed a rise in popularity of snow holidays for Australian families in recent years, especially at overseas resorts.

“We have found that as working parents become busier, Christmas is often the only extended holiday many families can have so those keen on snow head to the northern hemisphere at that time, using discount packages at popular, family-friendly ski resorts in Canada, USA and, increasingly, Japan because of its proximity,” Ms Wagstaff said.

“For Australian families, enjoying fun in the snow together is a real novelty and something most parents want to treat their children to at least once. Ski holidays are exciting, bonding experiences and they’re never forgotten – and they are holidays your teenage kids want to join as well!”

Ms Wagstaff said the new ski edition of Holidays with Kids magazine featured stories on:-

** Skiing on a family budget plus snow holidays in Aspen by magazine ambassadors Symantha and Kieren Perkins

** Handy tips for ski novice families

** Ski trips to eastern Europe, Japan, Canada, California, New Zealand and an indoor ski park in Dubai

** Champion skier Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin and retired Olympic skiers Alisa Camplin and Maria Despas

On the ‘flip’ side of the Holidays with Kids ski magazine, readers will find 114 pages on ‘warmer’ holidays for families around the world including Fiji and Borneo, a new regular animal encounters page and a countdown of Australia’s top 10 favourite holiday parks. A 16-page Hong Kong liftout is also included as well as a chance to win a family holiday in Hong Kong.

And as a bonus, copies of Holidays with Kids magazine in newsagents will come with a free 128-page ‘Big 4 Holiday Guide for 2008’ profiling holiday park options across the country.

* Holidays with Kids is Australia’s biggest-circulating travel magazine distributed to both consumers and travel agents with CAB-audited circulation of 60,000 copies. A readership of 600,000 includes in-lounge and in-flight readership with Australia’s leading airline.

The Holidays with Kids website www.holidayswithkids.com.au receives almost four million hits and 740,000 page views per month and has more than 33,000 online members.

A Report by The Mole