Are small ski areas truly the “breeding grounds” of new skiers, or is this assumption an unchallenged myth? The editor of this magazine asked me if there were a way of uncovering some data from the National Skier Opinion Survey (NSOS) research that would prove or dismiss the case for small areas as the primary source of new skiers.
To make life easier, we segmented the universe of ski areas by type. The types included small areas which tend to be close-by population centers and attract mostly day skiers; medium size areas, which tend to be a two-hour-or-more drive from population centers, and which attract a mix of weekend and vacationing skiers; and destination resorts, where most skiers stay for three or more days.
While the three definitions appear to cover most types of ski areas, the skier population at each is not clean. For example, most of the larger Colorado ski areas are considered destination resorts, but at least four are very dependent on the Denver metro area for skiers. For a couple of them, local Denver residents accounted for almost 70% of its 1992/93 skier days.
A cleaner and simpler approach is to review the areas by size, based on skier day counts. The following chart is a rough estimate of the size breakout of the approximately 450 viable ski areas operating in the U.S.
| No. of areas | Avg. Skier Days | % Skier Total | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (large) | 1,000,000 | 10 mill. | 18.5 |
| 100 (medium) | 250,000 | 25 mill. | 46.3 |
| 40 (small) | 56,000 | 19 mill. | 35.2 |
Twenty-five percent of areas (large plus medium) account for 65% of skier days based on the above estimates. If the figures are true, one might expect that these 110 largest ski areas would account for an equivalent 65% of first-time skiers. Perhaps more, since the perception is that with their greater marketing clout, their large and impressive ski schools and their aggressive promotion of skiing, they should attract more first-time skiers.
A second assumption is that a “guaranteed-to-learn” ski week package, together with all of the implied amenities and charms of a full-blown resort, would be a more attractive lure for a person who wants to try skiing. The local area pales by comparison and offers no guarantees.
Last season’s National Skier Opinion Survey, conducted at 32 ski areas, represented 17% of all skier days. Averaging the percent of first-year skiers we found at each type of area, the picture emerges of most new skiers doing their first skiing at small areas (12.7% times 2.5 million skiers).
| Area Size | % First-Timers | Skier Days | Skiers | First-Timers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large | 5.1 | 10 mill. | 1.25 mill. | 64,000 |
| Medium | 5.2 | 25 mill. | 2.6 mill. | 135,000 |
| Small | 12.7 | 19 mill. | 2.5 mill. | 322,000 |
Clearly, while the large and medium areas may enjoy the lion’s share (65%) of all skier days, they account for only 39% of first-time skiers, and small areas 61%.
The Numbers
There are simply not enough large areas for this finding to be otherwise. Hypothetically, even if the percent of new skiers at large areas were the same as at small ones (12.7%), the number of new skiers created would still be 40% of what small areas create.
It should also be noted that the percentages vary widely between the large destination areas. Some, with no large population centers in their immediate market area, have a very low percentage of new skiers; others, especially some in southern Colorado and New Mexico where Texas is a prime market, had much higher percentages—more in the range of some productive small areas.
Medium size resorts had a relatively constant percent of first-time skiers, but the range was a low of 3% and a high of 7.6%. Western areas tend to average higher than areas in the East.
Of the small resorts, two midwest resorts had 22% first-timers last winter. In the east, the best was 14.6% with 9.6% the lowest.
One general caution is that the results being presented here do not include skiers below 16 years of age. There is no reason to believe, however, that the percentages would be different if NSOS interviewed the younger skiers.
Why The Differences?
Location seems to be the key to attracting first-time skiers. The closer an area is to a major population center, the higher the percentage of first-time skiers we found on the slopes. This goes for Colorado as well as for Illinois and Massachusetts.
Location allows local areas to focus their advertising. Many use radio and television aimed at the total population of large metro markets. The focus is effective and the appeal stretches to non-skiers as well as to skiers.
Local areas do more group business. They are very adept at bringing church groups, social organizations and other groups to ski for a day or a weekend. Many first-time skiers are introduced to the sport in groups, traveling by bus. Group skiing helps overcome the intimidation which may be present among non-skiers; more importantly, it incorporates the most important reason people take up skiing: “My friends encouraged me.”
While medium and large ski resorts may offer many more amenities, people who have never skied before more than likely do not appreciate them. How effective the bait of a guaranteed learn-to-ski package is for someone who has never skied before is questionable. Many of these advertisements concentrate on the features (the deal) and not the benefits. To get someone to ski, they need to be sold, and one of the most effective ways of selling skiing is though trial. Local areas are the easiest and most cost-effective places for people to try the sport.
Many learn-to-ski packages are aimed at families. A family or spouse ski package appeals to only half the skier population (51.9% are married with children or married without children).To address the entire market, learn-to-ski promotions should not be defined too narrowly. An advantage group rates and packages have is that they do not exclude people for very many reasons.
The question avoided in this article is how many first-time skiers have a good enough time skiing to keep at it; and if they do, do they, as conventional wisdom has it, matriculate to those big destination resorts? Generally, lower ability level skiers are less satisfied with their skiing experiences, and that holds for both big destination resorts and small local areas. One thing clearly missing in the ski industry is a way of identifying first-timers and not only tracing their behavior, but offering ways to get them to ski again.
And 61% of these first-timers can be found at local ski areas, which reduces the target range to 340 sites if the industry wished to offer ways to encourage never-evers to ski and ski more often.
