Queenstown officially opens for ski season

With snow blanketing the mountains overnight, Queenstown is buzzing with excitement ahead of tomorrow’s official start to the 2012 ski season.

Snow lovers will be carving it up tomorrow (9 June) at Coronet Peak, Queenstown’s closest ski area, which will be the first of the region’s six commercial ski fields to open and one of only two in New Zealand.

Snow Park NZ is scheduled to open next Friday (15 June) followed by The Remarkables on 16 June, Cardrona Alpine Resort on 22 June, and Treble Cone on 28 June.

“It’s snow time!”, said Destination Queenstown CEO Graham Budd.  “Queenstown looks picture perfect with fresh snow on the mountains and there’s a real buzz around town now as everybody gears up for winter.”

In a longstanding Queenstown tradition, locals and visitors will come together to officially celebrate the start of winter in two weeks’ time at the annual American Express Queenstown Winter Festival.

Dubbed the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest winter party, the multi award-winning festival (22 June - 1 July 2012) attracts an estimated 45,000 people each year to celebrate winter in style.  The festival features 10 days of non-stop fun with on-mountain action, fireworks, street parties, concerts, comedy, free family fun, and a mix of internationally acclaimed performers and home-grown acts.

Entertainment will continue throughout the winter season with various events being staged at the ski fields as well as in town.  Highlights include the Free Ski World Cup Half Pipe and Snowboard World Cup Half Pipe (20-26 August); Winter Games Adventure Film Festival (24-26 Aug); Gay Ski Week (25 Aug – 1 Sept); Northface Freeski Open of NZ – Slopestyle and Halfpipe (28 Aug-1 Sept at Snow Park) and the Big Mountain (3-8 Sept at The Remarkables).

And with the airlines boosting their domestic and trans-Tasman flight schedules by 29 percent to cater for winter holidaymakers, getting to Queenstown has never been easier.

From the last week of June, there will be 32 direct trans-Tasman flights into Queenstown per week from Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar as well as a significant increase in domestic flights from Air New Zealand and Jetstar.

Mr Budd said that the improved flight connectivity made Queenstown an extremely attractive short-haul winter holiday destination for Australians and New Zealanders.

“Queenstown is less than a two-hour flight from New Zealand’s major centres and only three hours from Australia.  With stunning lake and alpine scenery, six ski fields to choose from, budget to five-star accommodation, a huge range of world-class activities, and a vibrant après ski scene, it really has the ‘wow’ factor and is a great value holiday option for all ages and all budgets.”

For a comprehensive overview of Queenstown visit www.queenstownNZ.co.nz.