Industry marketers, trying to catch all the subtleties of demography, have been trying to balance the two scenarios of a) the baby boomers on whose shoulders the ski industry has grown, and who clearly remain a vital, though numerically declining, factor in the industry pie; and b) the Gen X and Gen Y cohorts, and especially the latter, who represent the near and long-term future. The author’s National Skier/Boarder Opinion Survey, which has been conducted annually for the past seven years, gives valuable insights into what is happening. Because the research is not based on a national sampling, but rather on interviews at ski areas, the numbers are not, strictly speaking, projectable to the whole universe of skiers and boarders; however, because of the wide distribution of ski areas where the interviews are conducted, the editors consider the data reliable for the conclusions suggested and the trend-watching engaged in.
Important note: when the author does not specifically differentiate, the collective “skiers” and “downhillers” means both skiers and snowboarders. —The Editors
By Jim Spring, President, National Skier/Boarder Opinion Survey
In the September 1998 issue of SAM, I concluded that, “For the first time in over a decade, the average age of a downhiller over the age of 16 declined from the previous year.” The new data from this past season clearly show the beat continues.
In 1997, the average age of a skier/rider (excluding the under-sixteens) was 39.3; in 1998 it was 37.5; this past season it had dropped still further to 36.6. The cause is quite simple: This past season saw a significant increase in skiers between the ages of 16 and 24. In 1997, this age segment reached its nadir, representing only 21.1 percent of the downhill population; this past season, the segment represented 23.5 percent—an 11.3 percent increase.
Of greater significance is the fact that the 16-to-19 age segment jumped 112 percent, from 5.6 percent of the population in 1997 to 11.9 percent in 1999. This is Gen Y beginning to flex its muscle and the first indication of whether that generation thinks skiing/riding is cool. The first signs are positive.
The age group that is declining is the over 55-year-olds, which fell from 13.6 percent of the population in 1997 to 9.7 percent in 1999. That means that the 25-to-54-year-old age segment picked up 1.5 points. This is all good news for resorts and associations, which sell sponsorships and programs based on delivering the young and the wealthy.
Interestingly, despite the increases in younger skiers and boarders, median household income of all skiers and boarders reached an all-time high of $96,000, up from $90,000 last season and from $86,000 in 1997.
The number of all downhillers who were single moved from 36 percent in 1998 up to 39 percent, a figure we can attribute to the reappearance of the young. Singles are predominately male, 50 percent are under age 24, 55 percent consider themselves advanced or better in ability and 10 percent snowboard exclusively while 29 percent both ski and snowboard.
The percentage of families (married with children) declined from 46.5 to 43.5 of the population. Is it time to start thinking about how to entertain hot-blooded youth again?
Snowboarders
The really true picture of what is happening vis-a-vis alpine skiing versus snowboarding is very difficult to tie down statistically, if only because what is happening varies enormously from area to area, and broad national generalizations don’t work well. The crossover factor has been hard to tie down, as has a comfortable estimate of those who, on any one day, might both ski and ride. Nonetheless, the NSOS findings here demonstrate the general trends that are playing out one way or another at resorts across North America. Those looking for good news should find it in the Gen Y blip on the screen.—Ed.
In 1993, only 4.2 percent of the downhill population snowboarded. By 1998, 29 percent were snowboarders. This past season, 31 percent of the over-16-year-old population said they were snowboarders, an increase of 6.8 percent.
Crossover skiers represented most of the gains in snowboarding from 1993 through 1997, the sport’s heyday of growth. But a slowdown occurred in the percentage increases in snowboarders starting in 1998, when snowboarding grew only 9.6 percent.
As we pointed out here last year, “The crossover frenzy among adults has virtually stopped for all age groups.”
What is more germane than the slowdown in the total downhill market, is the growth in the number who snowboard exclusively. They don’t ski. In 1999, that figure is 6.3 percent, up from 4.1 percent in 1998. The slowed growth is because alpine skiers have stopped trading their skis for boards.
Don’t let the slowed growth figure fool you. Demand for snowboard facilities will increase because the fastest growing age segment, 16 to 24, contains 16.4 percent of downhillers who snowboard exclusively. This percentage is greater than all other age segments combined.
And the number of under 16-year-olds who snowboard exclusively jumped from 8.8 percent to 16.2 percent from 1998 to 1999, an increase of 84 percent. If Gen Y thinks downhilling is cool, a continually growing percentage of them believe it because they snowboard, not ski.
