groups > history

Ok, here’s a quick summary of the company philosophy and how it came to be.

Wasteland was born really because no other tour operators provided the flexibility and the understanding required for groups of young people, primarily students. The only companies that could provide big group trips made no allowances for social schedules, flexible payment plans, late booking facilities, bounced cheques, youthful exuberance and tight budgets. They were large, often faceless organisations that lacked charisma and spirit, who were slow to see the potential and afraid probably of reputations etc.

Wasteland paved the way with a very simple approach which was to work with clients at their level and to open up those resorts that appeared to be the bastions of the larger operators, to the budget conscious, party loving youth of blighty! Breaking down the myth that it was elitist and unaffordable, Wasteland Ski probably helped generate a whole new strata of skiing companies.

With a bunch of friends and family acting as reps and hosts, and with a group of fantastic boys from Essex providing the coaches and general transport, Wasteland rose from the ashes of  many a resort party. Things did not always go smoothly, we were seen as slightly rebellious, the resorts gave us a tough time but clients loved us.  No one else understood them and we engaged completely at their level and worked alongside them to make sure their fledgling trips went with a bang….quite literally.

Many friendships were forged in those early days. The atmosphere was incredibly relaxed, jovial and in many ways carefree, the word was being spread about what a great time people were having on Wasteland trips. 19 years later we remain focused on providing the youth of today with the same feeling and continue to develop our own standards beyond expectations. 

In summary, our philosophy has changed very little, we just fight harder to provide you what others can't. We’re still into skiing and boarding and we still enjoy freedom and friendship. Our staff remain encouraged to really engage with clients and live the life with them for the week….we just want to make the Wasteland experience special, intimate and cool.