International Report on Mountain & Snow Tourism Makes 10th Edition

20th September 2018

Category : News

The 10th edition of the International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism has been published by ski industry expert Laurent Vanat.

There are currently 67 countries in the world that offer equipped outdoor ski areas covered with snow. Taking into account indoor facilities, mountaineering-only areas and other types of facilities such as dry slopes, the figure can be as high as 100.

The 2018 edition of the report, which is usually published only in English and Chinese, has also be published in a French edition this time.

Summing up key findings of this year’s report Mr Vanat notes,

“It is satisfactory to note that after 3 years of stagnation or decline, the total number of skier visits worldwide is up 4% compared to winter 2016/17.  The last few years have shown some changes. Western markets have seen a disruption in the business model with multi-resorts discounted seasonal passes, a phenomenon that already began to appear in North America for the past decade and is continuing to expand.”

“In North America, there have been major consolidation operations among the major players in the industry, with high financial performance expectation. The result is ongoing rising prices, with a negative effect on the number of practicing skiers,” Mr Vanat continued, adding, “In the Alps, the number of very large truly interconnected ski areas has increased, thanks to the construction of interconnection lifts in Austria.  And of course, the market is booming in China, where 57 new ski resorts have mushroomed in 2017.”

Mr Vanat concludes that the industry’s fundamental challenges remain: demographic change, with baby boomer’s retirement and low customer renewal, global competition of other vacation, leisure and recreation activities, and improving retention rates of beginners in offering up-to-date learning solutions.

“The coming years promise to be exciting for the global ski market!” commented Mr Vanat.

You can download the full report from website www.vanat.ch