Visitation to ski resorts worldwide is composed of six (soon to be seven) generations. That isn’t new to skiing or snowboarding: they have long been sports enjoyed by people of all ages. That universality is not always reflected in resort marketing, though.
Across a wide spectrum of industries, including winter sports, marketers have traditionally concentrated efforts on the sought-after under-45 demographic. The reasoning is simple: historically, this demographic is ripe with trendsetters and represents the largest percentage of the purchasing population.
Generational Differences
At present, millennials (born 1981-1996) and Gen Z (born 1997-2012) fall into this highly coveted group. However, in today’s consumer landscape, these generations do not have the same purchasing parity of the preceding generations (nor are millennials seen as universally cool).
The over-50 cohort accounts for a majority of consumer spending in North America. Among that cohort is, in part, Gen X (1965-1980), the “small but spendy” generation that popularized snowboarding, twin tips, and terrain parks, and the baby boomers (1946-64), who fueled huge ski industry growth in the ’70s and ’80s and have retained significant purchasing power (and love for the slopes) as they’ve aged.
Further, within the next five years, the population of Americans and Canadians older than 60 is projected to be greater than that of those younger than 60, making the over-60 population soon to be the largest consumer group in North America.
That shift is reflected in the age of ski and snowboard participants. In the past decade, the median age of skiers and snowboarders has increased from 30 to 35. Last season, the National Ski Areas Association 2023-24 Kottke End of Season & Demographic Report found that baby boomers accounted for 15 percent of total participation in winter sports. Overall, the industry saw a 3.5 percent increase in snow sport participants older than age 55 and 4.5 percent decline in snow sport participants under the age of 25.
Given the data, what can resort operators and marketers do to keep skiing and snowboarding top of mind for participants of all ages—and better address the multiple generations in our market?
Find Common Ground
Across all industries, age segmentation in target marketing isn’t as relevant as it once was. For example, since 2020, beauty giant Sephora has been incorporating age inclusivity into its consumer marketing, with ads featuring stunning people from different generations.
For Sephora, the strategic decision to be more age—as well as race and gender—inclusive resulted in a year-over-year revenue increase of 25 percent in 2024 (Forbes, 2024).
Multi-gen stories. Taking a lesson from Sephora, to bridge generational gaps, our resort marketing should share stories of multi-generational participation. From a content perspective, this concept could be brought to life by reaching out to your audience to find a multigenerational family that wants to share their experience. With that family, you could create simple video content that showcases, for example, a snowboarding grandpa teaching his granddaughter how to 50-50 a box or a teenage grandson carving with his grandmother down an expert run.
The goal here is to highlight the similarities between the generations, if you will—these are shared experiences on the slopes that you can enjoy with family at any age.
Ageless marketing. Another concept is to embrace ageless marketing. At Banff Sunshine, we’ve found that nostalgia marketing that leverages our near century of resort history appeals to a wide audience, as the images are viewed as timeless.
As part of our social media strategy, we actively work to include vintage content showcasing the resort’s past. Whenever we do, our audience responds enthusiastically. Those that remember the old days chime in with their own stories and photos. Those that don’t, still enjoy feeling part of the shared history and/or they share the memories with older friends and family. Photos of the past take people back in time to memories they cherish.
Another way we produce ageless content is to use shots of skiers and riders from behind. When the audience can’t see the face of a model/athlete, audience members will generally complete the picture in their head in their own image.
When trying to create images that transcend age, pay attention to the details, such as clothing choices, for example. Properly fitted outerwear in conservative styles will age (or transcend age) better than something trendy. The goal in crafting faceless content is to generate images that provide cognitive consonance for a wide audience.
Nostalgia content showcasing the resort’s history allows people of all ages to relate.
Intergenerational Influence
Unlike seniors of past generations, baby boomers do not see themselves as old. Today’s seniors are fitter, healthier, wealthier, more active, and more engaged than any generation preceding them. They often report feeling several years or even decades younger than their actual age, and the average baby boomer sees themselves as capable, competent, and still a major decision maker for their family unit. If properly cultivated, these seniors can become influential promoters of your ski area.
Volunteer opportunities are one way to create connection for senior skiers and snowboarders while simultaneously turning them into promoters of your resort and the sports. At Sunshine, our Snow Host program is made up of volunteers who act as greeters, guides, and parking attendants. Most of our volunteers are over 60 and are happy to spend the day sharing their knowledge with guests.
Programming and products are another way to engage and develop active senior skiers and riders. For example, at Sunshine, every Wednesday, a group of retired professionals meets outside of our Old Sunshine Lodge for a weekly ski lesson. And many loyal skiers and snowboarders at resorts across the continent look forward to the day they are eligible for discounted senior passes. In fact, when Telluride Ski Resort announced at the beginning of 2024-25 that it would be eliminating its free season pass for over-80 skiers and riders, the resort received immediate pushback.
While the percentage of skiers over 80 is less than 1 percent, these folks tend to be loyal and vocal lifelong participants. They are a group worth holding onto as customers.
Grandfluencers. As noted, the plus-60 crowd is more active than ever and are still key family decision makers. As a result, many younger consumers are looking to their parents, grandparents, older family friends, and so-called “grandfluencers” for recommendations.
Like intergenerational recreation, intergenerational influence is not a new trend. However, it is a growing one. As social media continues to be a major focus for resort marketing, we resort marketers will benefit from understanding the value and opportunity of intergenerational influencing, which is currently growing at a faster clip than intragenerational influencing. (After all, mom and dad usually know best.)
Older influencers are present on all social platforms. If your resort works with influencers, consider expanding your influencer strategy to include influencers of different ages and interest. A woman in her 60s will create very different content than a woman in her 20s or 30s but may still appeal to the latter demographic.
Welcome Families
In the lifecycle of a skier or snowboarder, many of us start skiing or riding as children with our families. We’re introduced to the greatest winter pastime through our parents and/or grandparents. As we age, other activities compete for our recreational time, but the beauty of skiing and snowboarding is that it can be enjoyed at any age—and it is a sport you can always come back to after time away.
Take new mom Cassie Sharpe, the 2025 X Games freestyle ski gold medalist, as an example. At 32, the two-time Olympic medalist is the oldest female competitor on the World Cup halfpipe circuit. She returned to competitive skiing at the NZ Winter Games in September 2024 after the birth of her daughter.
Cassie’s family became a ski family after her father took a job as a senior manager at Vancouver Island’s Mount Washington, and she plans to share that legacy with her own kids. When asked if she sees herself skiing in her 70s or 80s, she replied, “Heck yeah, I’ll be the ripping granny who’s hopefully riding with my grandchild and teaching them to alley-oop.”
Lifelong sport participation is a gift we as resort marketers have. There is deep opportunity to connect with families and fans of all ages so we can grow lifetime ambassadors whose stories become woven into our resorts and industry.
