From skier/boarder recruitment and retention to the use of economic indicators
One of the major themes at the Canadian Snow Industry Symposium in Tremblant, Que., last month was the recruitment and retention of skiers and snowboarders.
"We're continually trying to draw people into skiing and snowboarding," says Jimmie Spencer, the president and CEO of the Canada West Ski Area Association. "But what we're trying to do is sell the whole winter resort experience."
According to Spencer, ski resorts are trying a number of different programs, including learn-to-ski and -snowboard packages aimed at adults and, more importantly, children.
The Canadian Ski Council is the driving force behind two different programs.
The Discover Skiing and Snowboarding program offers beginners, and skiers and boarders who have been away from the slopes for a while, discounted lift tickets, lessons and rental packages.
The second CSC program is SnowPass, which offers Grade 5 students three free lift tickets and deals on lessons and equipment rentals.
Ski areas across Canada offer both programs. Whistler-Blackcomb does not participate in the Discover Skiing and Snowboarding program but does offer its own discounted packages.
The National Ski Areas Association offers similar programs in the U.S. as well to attract skiers and boarders to the sport.
According to NSAA projections, skier/rider visits in the U.S. will drop by 40 per cent to 30 million in the next 20 years because of an aging Baby Boomer market, which makes up a large percentage of skiers.
Spencer also participated in a seminar at Tremblant that focused on the importance of "feeder" areas.
According to Spencer, most skiers and boarders start out at small or mid-sized ski areas near their homes before moving on to destination resorts.
"This leads to more skier visits for the bigger areas" such as Whistler-Blackcomb and Lake Louise, he explains.
But Spencer says resorts are now offering other winter activities besides skiing and boarding – such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, tubing, snowmobiling and dog sledding – to try and lure people to the mountains.
He also notes that ski areas are also morphing into four-season resorts that offer sightseeing, hiking, and mountain biking – among other activities – during the summer.
"There's something in it for everybody," Spencer says. "We're trying to promote resorts as a whole."
But Spencer and the rest of the ski industry are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to trying to increase skier/rider visits.
Total skier/rider visits have been flat at resorts in Canada and the U.S. for the past decade and skier numbers have fallen drastically during that same period.
Interest in snowboarding, meanwhile, has increased since it first made an appearance on the slopes during the 1980s but more recent indicators show that snowboarder numbers have declined at a similar rate to skier numbers.
"Snowboarding gave the industry a great shot in the arm," says Spencer.
The industry, however, might need more than a shot in the arm to remedy its woes, according to Iain MacMillan, the editor of Ski Canada magazine.
MacMillan says most people are experiencing a lack of time for recreational activities.
"Time is a huge factor," he says. "Families are so much busier these days.
"They have very little leisure time and when they do, they are choosing other activities."
Skiing and snowboarding are now not only competing against other sports, but the Internet and video games.
According to a recent article in Ski Area Management magazine, the biggest problem lies in attracting teenagers, who are increasingly "staying at home and doing their own thing," into the sport.
The article also says children and teenagers do not want to invest the time it takes to "master the rudiments of skill sports" such as skiing and snowboarding.
MacMillan, meanwhile, says the perceived expense of skiing and snowboarding also stops some people from giving the sports a try.
"Cost is the No. 1 most prohibitive factor," he says.
But there is another, perhaps more accurate, way to measure growth in snowsports, according to industry watchers.
Paul Mathews, president of the Whistler-based Ecosign Mountain Resort Planners Ltd., says a more relevant measurement is economic activity in ski resorts, which can be measured by how much time visitors spend in the mountains.
"I think that's the best way to measure growth," he says.
According to B.C. Assets and Lands Corp., which looks after land management for the provincial government, ski areas in B.C. generated revenues of more than $281 million during the 1999-2000 season, up from $191 million in 1996-1997.
B.C. ski areas also employed more than 4,300 full- and part-time workers and paid more than $87 million in wages during that same period.
Intrawest alone has spent $500 million in Whistler over the past five years, including $80 million on the Creekside redevelopment.
According to figures from Tourism Whistler, more and more visitors are coming to the resort in winter, with an average of almost 17,000 people here per day during the 2000-01 ski season.
A total of 616,000 room nights were paid for last year, three times as many as during 1998-1999. Average room rates have also risen by 28 per cent to $250 per night, compared to $181 in 1997-98.
Tourism Whistler also points out that an average-sized party of visitors spends more than $3,300 per five-day stay.
Retail sales of ski and snowboard equipment are another good indication of the industry's growth.
According to CSC figures, sales have steadily increased over the past three years, from $38.9 million in 1998-99 to $47.4 million last year.
Ed Pitoniak, Intrawest's vice president of resort operations, says this year's retail numbers are already up 20 per cent over the same time last year.
So, if Mathews is correct and economic indicators are the best way to measure growth in skiing and snowboarding, the industry seems to be on the upswing.
