There's no business like snow business! Marketing skiing into the 21 st century

Abstract

In maturing markets, European ski destina tions and tour operators are being forced to address both product and market issues in a more businesslike fashion. This paper begins by looking at tourism overall, and the place of the skiing market within the industry. A summary of the evolution of winter sports is followed by an examination of the world ski market with particular focus on the UK. An analysis of the consumer, the destinations they frequent, the operators who package skiing products, and the distribution structure of the industry, is succeeded by an evaluation of that part of the industry responsible for ski clotlrirrg and equipment. The author then looks at the impact of snowboarding, and contends that the growth and impulse for innovation in the winter sports business is coming from snow boarding rather than conventional skiing.

Based on this critical artalysis of the industry, the author makes recommendations for successfully marketing the sport into the 21st century, suggesting that the European industry should consider emulating certain marketing strategies employed in North America. In particular, more effort is required to encourage the potential market to partici pate. Although attempts have been made to segment the skiing market, identifying and understanding potential markets has never been a priority. The author concludes that if more people are to be tempted on to the slopes, then marketing policies of both destinations and operators in Europe will have to be increasinly aggressive.