Worldwide Ski Industry Report Claims Consolidation After the Pandemic

• There are still new ski resorts throughout the world, though in limited numbers.

• There are visit records in mature markets such as Italy and Chile, which had their best ever season.

• China has resumed its growing path with a new record season.

• International skiers’ flows are subject to unexpected changes.

• Geopolitical issues may have increased influence on the ski business in the future.

• Industry consolidation is currently stabilised.

• After more than 20 years of promises, the digitalisation still does not deliver easy access to the slopes and poorly contributes to customer journey improvement.

Verbier, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

The report says that ski resort visits are shaped by the snow and weather conditions.

By analogy to Herzberg hygiene-motivator management theory, snow is rather a driver of unsatisfaction if it is lacking, while sun is a driver of satisfaction when it shines.

Climate change impacts negatively the first, though positively the second.

If there is sufficient snow, a sunny day will motivate skiers to hit the slopes, and record visitation days experienced at some resorts still demonstrates it.

Although climate change obviously impacts the operation of ski resorts, it seems at this stage not to have a substantial impact on global visit numbers.

The 2023/24 ski season saw mixed results across countries, largely influenced by weather and snow conditions.

While China led the recovery, surpassing its pre-COVID 5-year average, other strong performers included the USA, Italy, Scandinavia and Russia.

However, France and Austria have yet to fully recover, while Japan and Germany experienced historically low visitation levels.

Overall, the season was a near zero-sum game, with gains in some regions offset by losses in others.

Ski Welt, Tirol, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI

Ski resorts are actively dealing with climate change:

• Improving snow management
• Reducing carbon footprints
• Investing in sustainability

The US ski areas focus on optimising snowmaking and resource use.

French resorts aim for carbon neutrality by 2037, with innovations in hydrogen-powered grooming and eco-friendly practices.

Advanced climate modelling, like CLIMSNOW in France and similar projects in Switzerland, helps resorts plan for future snow conditions and adapt infrastructure.

These efforts will hope to ensure the industry’s resilience and long-term sustainability

There are currently 68 countries in the world that offer equipped outdoor ski areas covered with snow.

Even if snowfields are much more numerous there are about 2,000 ski resorts worldwide.

Besides the major ski destinations in terms of skier visits, there are a number of other, smaller destinations, where skiing has been an industry for a long time, or is currently developing.

The most obvious emerging destinations are Eastern Europe and China.

There are a number of other small players spread out across the globe: Cyprus, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Lesotho, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey and several more.

About Laurent Vanat

He is a respected international consultant with a master’s degree in commercial and industrial sciences from the University of Geneva.

A specialist in strategy, business reviews, management, organisational analysis and market research – Laurent has become an expert in Alpine tourism.

He got involved for the industry since early 2000s with business planning and economic surveys. From 2009 on, he has published annually the International Report on Snow and Mountain Tourism.

Now widely considered the benchmark data publication for snowsports industry, his annual report has already been presented at numerous international meetings around the world, including OITAF, WTO, FIS, Mountain Planet, ALPITEC/ISPO, IMTA conferences and congresses.

Free digital access to the report is limited to its contributors and the supporters of its crowdfunding campaign.

Hard copies of the report can be purchased online through the website of the author – www.vanat.ch