Europe's warmest winter in 1,300 years has given ski resorts in B.C. a major financial boost, with overseas bookings up dramatically, says an industry spokesman.

With less than 20 centimetres of snow, many resorts in the European Alps don't have enough of the white stuff to open this winter, says Francis Argouin of the Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops in the B.C. Interior. 

"A lot of World Cups have been cancelled. There's just no snow right now," he said.

Argouin said that as a result of that drought, thousands of desperate skiers are flying across the Atlantic to B.C. for Christmas.

"British Columbia does, I think, get more reliable snow. We do hear more often that Europe may have one great year and the following year is not as good. You don't hear that as much in North America, and in B.C. we get a lot of snow, and quite reliably."

B.C. is having an especially snowy winter, with Argouin noting that the same blizzards that have been plaguing drivers, allowed resorts like Sun Peaks to open in mid-November.

"We opened with a bang as well. We got a lot of snow in the first week we opened, and we been skiing on all three mountains since the first week we opened."

Argouin said bookings from the United Kingdom alone have soared by more than 13 per cent this year, and he expects the trend to continue in coming years.