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Get 'em when they're young

Ski industry gears up to create life-long converts to the slopes

Judging by the local scene, North America’s ski resort industry seems to be enjoying a boom period. Snowboarding and innovations in ski technology have revived interest in the sports and created new heroes. A new mountain culture has spawned new magazines, snowboarder fashions and crowd-drawing pursuits such as freeskiing and boardercross. The impression is of a long-established industry riding a wave of excitement that’s rolling over the mountains.

However, the truth somewhat belies the image. According to the Canadian Ski Council (CSC), real skier numbers in North America (i.e. the total number of people visiting resorts to go skiing or snowboarding each year) have remained fairly flat over the past 20 years, especially in the United States. The CSC says annual skier visits in the U.S. have remained around the 50 to 52 million mark, with higher numbers being recorded in big snow years. Canada, in comparison, has stayed around 16 million for much of the past decade, with numbers climbing to 17 million over the past two seasons. However, CSC president Colin Chedore says Canada has seen considerable growth in its western ski resorts such as Whistler, due to a rising influx of overseas visitors.

"In the 1994/95 season 4.6 million skier visits were recorded in British Columbia and by the 99/2000 season it had increased to 5.6 million – that’s quite a jump." But Chedore says this increase has been offset by consistent poor snow seasons in the east, with 2000/2001 being the exception.

"This winter we could be looking at record skier visits in Canada’s eastern resorts, possibly up as high as 25 per cent," Chedore says.

Despite increases in some areas, the overall picture is one of very little growth – especially when you take general population increases into account. According to the US Census Bureau, the population in the United States rose from 248.8 million to 272.4 million between 1990 and 1998. And Statistics Canada says the population here grew from 24.8 million to 29.7 million between 1981 and 1996. Statistics Canada estimates the current Canadian population to be 32.2 million.

Put these figures against the skier statistics and it casts the ski industry into a state of negative growth, with a lower percentage of the population hitting the slopes in North America than did 10 years ago. The Print Measurement Bureau has backed this trend, reporting that there has been no growth in the number of Canadians who ski or snowboard.

So how did this disparity between image and reality come about? The images are largely the work of the most successful resorts themselves. Take Whistler for example. From the winter of 1985-86 to 1999-00 the number of skier visits increased every year but one, with annual growth averaging 5.27 per cent between 1990 and 1999. Shrewd marketing and steady expansion has ensured Whistler has remained at the top of the international resort totem pole, and the draw card is working. Consistent good snow years, compared to key competitors in Colorado, has also helped.

But take a look at the bigger picture and what transpires is that resorts are getting bigger in size but fewer in number. One industry estimate in the mid-90s, during the height of the resort consolidation craze, suggested there were one-third fewer ski areas in North America than there were in the early ’70s. The big resorts have increased their market share – and most of them are now part of companies that own multiple resorts – by attracting more destination skiers. Lots of the small ski areas are still in business, surviving on the loyalty of the local market. But many of the intermediate-sized ski areas were trapped between the two extremes: not big enough to attract destination visitors or real estate investors, but too big to rely solely on the local market.

Another factor in the zero or negative growth of skiers is choice. This is an era where the range of leisure time options has never been greater, especially when it comes to sport. Twenty years ago, your average Canadian might choose from a hockey game, a day’s skiing or a soccer session on any given winter weekend. Now add snowboarding, skateboarding, kite-skiing, snowmobiling and heli-skiing into the mix, as well as stay-at-home pursuits such as satellite television and surfing the Internet. The difference lies in that the extreme has become mainstream, and what was once the domain of the rich or reckless, is now accessible to all. There’s also just more ways for people to spend their leisure time, as the cruise ship and warm-weather vacation business people know.

Sporting authorities realize the need to capture market share. Colin Chedore says competition for peoples’ leisure time has never been greater, especially with factors such as traffic congestion eating into the equation.

"When you consider cities like Toronto, where commuters sit in traffic for an hour each day each way, it’s not surprising that spending their free time driving their kids to the mountains isn’t a big incentive."

However Chedore says for the ski and snowboard industry, retention is the biggest challenge.

"The ski and snowboard industry has no trouble attracting people but has a lot of trouble keeping them," he explains. "Studies from the U.S. show only 15 per cent of beginner skiers end up staying with the sport."

As a result 45 resorts in Canada have this season launched a five-year research project to track the "stick-ability" of beginner skiers to the sport. Chedore says the research is being carried out through rental shops, since that is where most people get their gear the first time round and where key personal data is recorded. He says the survey will follow their progress by finding out if lessons were taken and most importantly, if they plan to ski or board again.

The problem of retention is also a significant factor behind a program called the Grade 5 SnowPass, which has run in both the U.S. and Canada for the past few years. Under this initiative, fifth graders are given three complimentary lift passes at participating resorts. In Canada 160 ski areas, representing 90 per cent of skier visits nation-wide, are part of the program. The tickets roughly equate to 75 days of skiing or snowboarding in a single season, and discount rentals are part of the offer. The rationale behind the initiative is to let 10 year olds experience the mountains first hand and hopefully spark a lifelong passion in skiing or snowboarding.

The idea had its roots in Colorado in 1996 and was subsequently adopted and launched by the CSC in the 1997/98 winter season. Vicki Dalgleish co-ordinates the Grade 5 SnowPass program for the Canada West Ski Areas Association on behalf of the council. She says Grade 5 kids were identified as being still young enough to be impressionable but old enough to make decisions over what they liked.

"Ten year olds are at a stage where they can start developing a life-long love of the outdoors, so it’s important to give them alternatives to sitting in front of the Nintendo machine," Dalgleish says. Fifth graders also made up the majority of the population at elementary schools the year the program was launched, she added.

Each year Dalgleish distributes information packs to elementary schools throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Other participating ski areas distribute the same pack in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. Fifth graders living in Ontario, Quebec or Atlantic Canada receive the Canada East SnowPass book from various agencies. Dalgleish says while she has little hands-on contact with children in the program, parents of the fifth graders are increasingly becoming involved.

"Parents start phoning me as early as August wanting application kits," she says. "They are thrilled about the opportunities and savings it provides."

By all accounts, the SnowPass program is growing from strength to strength. Chedore says almost 21,000 Canadian children used the pass this season, compared to only 9,000 when the program started in 1997. He believes this is largely due to word of mouth, since the SnowPass is an extra-curricular activity and schools are not required to push it.

"We are very pleased with how it’s going, with 18 per cent more signing up this year compared to 1999/2000," he says. "The best thing is that half of those who use the program have never skied or snowboarded before."

Chedore says the SnowPass is available to approximately 400,000 10 year olds in Canada each year, and achieving a five per cent capture rate is well above average for these types of offers.

Promoting family outings is another major goal of the program. Dalgleish says 10-year-old children are not independent enough to be out skiing on their own so the packages were designed to entice whole families with discount packages and other incentives. However, the CSC says 60 per cent of the participating Canadian resorts have dropped the clause requiring a paying parent or adult to accompany the Snowpass holder, as it was too restrictive. Most ski resorts are within 90 miles of a major metropolitan area so 10 years olds are free to join in any type of ski trip, whether it be with friends or family, Chedore explains.

Four years on, the success of SnowPass is apparent in its increasing uptake, but what’s the retention rate? Are the original group life-time skiers or boarders? Chedore says it’s a little too early to tell.

"The original intake of 10 year olds in 1997 are currently being surveyed with 4,000 questionnaires being sent out this week," he explains. "The council has built up a database of 80,000 kids and their families and is looking at possible follow-ups programs and offers."

New target groups, such as ethnic communities and ageing baby-boomers, may also be in line for ski incentive programs from the CSC. Chedore says Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have seen significant increases in Asian and other ethnic immigrant populations that have yet to develop a skiing mind-set.

"The first thing will be getting them used to our winters and culture, but there is great potential in that area, especially with their children." Chedore says this is where programs such as the Grade 5 SnowPass can bridge the gap. "Eighty per cent of people who ski or board were introduced to the sport by their families and a 45-year-old new immigrant is unlikely to take up a snow sport, especially if they come from a country without snow."

Chedore says the baby boomer market is being ear-marked because of its disposable income and preponderance to youth culture. "This demographic are keen to look young, feel young, and are generally fairly active, so could respond well to a great product offer."

He says hard work is needed to reverse the current trend of minimal growth in the ski industry and prevent going the same way as hockey, which is seeing a marked decline in participation in Canada.



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