Will Winter 21-22 See Record Numbers of First Time Skiers and Snowboarders?
A number of reports published in recent days are pointing to a far higher number of people booking holidays for the coming winter that have never skied or boarded before.
The news is being seen as a positive sign by many in skiing, with industry expert Laurent Vanat’s annual International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism report noting each year that the European market is largely mature with skier numbers fairly static, in some cases even declining.
Club Med, which runs holiday villages at ski resorts in Europe, Asia and as of this winter back in North America with their new centre at Le Massif in Quebec, has published its own annual report, for the ninth year, and found that 81% of first-time skiers are choosing a winter sports holiday because their usual type of holiday isn’t feasible due to Covid-19 restrictions.
“This is further backed up by Club Med data, with an 100% year-on-year increase in new customers for the upcoming winter sports season, and given the open-air surroundings of a winter sports holiday, it is perhaps unsurprising that this is an attractive holiday proposition to many in the current climate,” a company spokesperson commented.
Several other ski holiday companies have announced similar findings with their bookings.
Besides Club Med’s findings that skiers are switching to ski holidays from other types of holiday, the leading Indian resort of Gulmarg said it saw record numbers of first time bookers after the country’s first lockdown as people decided this was the time to finally tackle their bucket-list dreams of heading to the mountains to try snowsports. Many might never have tried them without the impact of the pandemic, deciding they wanted some cool air and wide-open space.
Gulmarg reported record business as a result last winter when it had feared that due to international borders being closed at the time (now re-opened) a lack of foreign skiers which normally bring the majority of business would be a disaster for the resort.
The manager of online ski holiday travel agency SNO, reported the same trend but said his company was seeing yet another factor at play, new skiers and boarders joining groups:
“The biggest source of new skiers into the market for us is from people joining group ski trips, to go on holiday with their friends. It’s easy to see why non-skiers get caught up in the excitement, when hearing their pals planning a big week away together or recounting the last time they hit the slopes or the après together. After all the isolation of lockdowns, we’re seeing record numbers of newbies booking to join their mates on the slopes,” said SNO’s Managing Director Richard Sinclair.
