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1、 Laurent Vanat 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts 14th edition-April 2022 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -2-Laurent Vanat Table of contents Glossar
2、y.-6-Foreword.-8-Introduction.-9-The covid-19 impact on ski resorts operation.-9-A season high in contrasts.-11-Methodology.-12-The world ski market.-13-Participating countries.-13-Ski resorts and infrastructure.-15-Evolution of worldwide skier visits.-17-Market share in worldwide skier visits.-17-S
3、kiers per region of origin.-18-International skiers flows.-19-Future trends.-20-Country benchmark-top 20.-22-Alpine countries.-29-Austria.-30-France.-35-Italy.-39-Liechtenstein.-43-Slovenia.-44-Switzerland.-47-Western Europe.-52-Andorra.-53-Belgium.-56-Denmark.-58-Finland.-60-Germany.-66-Iceland.-68
4、-Norway.-70-Portugal.-73-Spain.-75-Sweden.-79-United Kingdom.-83-Eastern Europe and Central Asia.-87-Albania.-88-Armenia.-89-Azerbaijan.-91-Belarus.-93-Bosnia&Herzegovina.-95-Bulgaria.-98-Croatia.-101-Cyprus.-103-Czech Republic.-104-Estonia.-108-Georgia.-110-Greece.-113-Hungary.-116-Kazakhstan.-118-
5、Kosovo.-121-Kyrgyzstan.-123-Latvia.-125-Lithuania.-127-Macedonia.-129-2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -3-Montenegro.-131-Poland.-133-Romania.-136-Russia.-139-Serbia.-146-Slovakia.-149-Tajikistan.-152-Ukraine.-153-Uzbe
6、kistan.-155-The Americas.-157-Argentina.-158-Bolivia.-162-Canada.-163-Chile.-168-Colombia.-172-Mexico.-173-United States.-174-Asia-Pacific.-181-Australia.-182-China.-186-India.-193-Japan.-195-Mongolia.-199-Nepal.-200-New Zealand.-202-North Korea.-206-South Korea.-208-The Middle East&Africa.-212-Afgh
7、anistan.-213-Algeria.-215-Iran.-216-Iraq.-219-Israel.-220-Lebanon.-221-Lesotho.-223-Morocco.-224-Pakistan.-226-South Africa.-228-Turkey.-230-Conclusion.-234-Sources and acknowledgments.-237-French/German/Chinese glossary.-240-ISBN 978-2-9701028-9-2 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-
8、Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -4-Laurent Vanat Laurent Vanat is an international expert in ski business and ski resort management.He gained his experience first in Switzerland,benchmark-ing the largest resorts and starting a comprehensive collection of visitation da
9、ta in 2004.His work resulted since winter 2004/05 in the Swiss end of season report.In order to benchmark Swiss ski resorts with their fellows in the Alps and North America,the Swiss report initially gave a very short overview of these respective markets.The demand for international benchmarking dat
10、a was however growing,as the demand for extending the scope of countries covered.Thus,start-ing in 2009,a broader overview of international ski markets was pre-sented in a dedicated report.The latter grew from the initial 7 countries reported in the 2009 issue to 72 in 2020.Today,the International R
11、eport on Snow&Mountain Tourism is acknowledged worldwide as the reference for ski industry figures.Since 2016,it has been translated several times into Chinese and 2018 saw an exceptional French version,to mark for the 10th issue of the report.Data from this report has already been presented at nume
12、rous international meetings,including the OITAF congress in Rio de Janeiro,those of UN-WTO in Andorra,Almaty,Tbilisi and Ulsan,ALPITEC/ISPO in Beijing,Mountain Planet in Grenoble and meetings of FIS,BOCOG and many other organi-sations.It has been quoted by numerous press articles,reports and other m
13、edia and has been a reference in several conferences and TV interviews.Beside his dedication to follow up the ski business,Laurent Vanat has his own con-sultancy practice specialising in business management and planning.Disclaimer The present document compiles data provided by numerous sources,toget
14、her with estimates done in the absence or insufficient reliability of available statistics.Not all the information set out in this report has been systematically verified.The author is not responsible for any inaccuracy,nor is he liable for any damage what-soever,direct or indirect,from using this d
15、ocument or its contents.The contents of this document are updated on a yearly basis with the goal of continually improving accuracy.Therefore,readers of past editions should be aware that some data might have been amended in line with this objective.Since new and more reliable statistics are made av
16、ailable every year,some data changes must be interpreted carefully.Unless clearly specified and presented with historical series,some variances from one edition of this report to the next are not neces-sarily significant(increases or decreases).It may be only modification due to use of sources that
17、are more reliable.Unaware comparisons with former editions of this report may thus lead to inadequate conclusions.The information contained in this report may only be reproduced for non-com-mercial use with quote Laurent Vanat 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism.Datasheets of the majo
18、r figures can be purchased in Excel format.Commercial use of the figures or the whole document will be charged.Please refer to the applicable price list1.Swiss law,Geneva jurisdiction applies.1 Available at following address:www.vanat.ch/tarif-WR-data-2022.pdf 2022 International Report on Snow&Mount
19、ain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -5-Did you enjoy finding all this ready made information for free on the web?Commit to support the further issues of this report!Please help to keep it updated and freely available in joining the community of peo-ple,corpora
20、tions and other organisations that support this report.(See page 238 for the list of current sup-porters and how to proceed to get yourself involved)2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -6-Laurent Vanat Glossary2 Aerial li
21、ft:A lift where skiers hang in a carrier over the ground(which is held to the cable by fixed or detachable grips).This includes chairlifts,gondolas,com-bined lifts(chairs&gondolas,also called telemix or chondolas),cable cars,fu-nitels,2S lifts,3S lifts.Alpine country3:Those countries that are part o
22、f the European Alps(Austria,France,Italy,Lichtenstein,Slovenia and Switzerland).Often,reference in this doc-ument is limited to the 4 majors.FIS:International Ski Federation,based in Switzerland.It was founded in 1924 and now comprises 118 national ski associations.Its mission is to promote and dire
23、ct the development of ski and snowboarding activities worldwide,and oversee competition.Hourly lift output(skiers/hour):The manufacturers rated number of skiers per hour that a lift can transport to the top of the lift.Total country capacity is the sum of all the individual lift capacities.Lifts(ski
24、 lifts,ropeways):General term to designate any aerial lift,surface lift or funicular.Number of skiers transported:The number of passengers transported per lift;one skier taking the same lift 5 times accounts for 5 skiers transported,also re-ferred to as frequencies.National participation rate:Domest
25、ic skiers as a percentage of the total coun-try population.This represents the total number of nominal skiers without any consideration for the frequency of visits to a ski resort.Thus,this rate includes skiers that did not ski during the latest season4.Ski area:A designated place where one skis(in
26、some countries,these areas may not have lifts).Ski resort:In this report,a ski resort is considered as an organized ski area with more than 4 lifts.Skier:One person participating in skiing,snowboarding or other downhill sliding activity,independent of the frequency of his visits to ski resorts.Thus,
27、the wording also covers nominal skiers that do not ski each season.Skier visits(or skier-days):One person visiting a ski area for all or any part of a day or night for the purpose of skiing,snowboarding,or other downhill sliding activity.Skier visits include full-day,half-day,night,complimentary,adu
28、lt,child,season pass and any other type of ticket that gives a skier/snowboarder the use of an areas facilities.A skier skiing for a whole week at a resort accounts for 7 skier visits(for example).The figures indicated in this report for countries or indi-vidual resorts usually refer to the last 5-y
29、ear average.Skier visits per inhabitant:Ratio of domestic skier visits divided by the popu-lation.Skier visits per foreign visitor:Ratio of skier visits of foreign visitors divided by the total number of foreign visitors.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry
30、 figures for ski resorts April 2022 -7-Surface lift:Any kind of ski lift where the skiers remain standing on their skis,pulled or pushed on the ground.This includes draglifts,rope tows,tow lifts,platter lifts(or button lifts),T-bars and beginner lifts.Magic carpets are usually consid-ered separately
31、.Vertical Transport Meters per Hour(VTMH):Product of each individual lifts hourly capacity multiplied by its vertical drop(the figure is usually expressed in thousands).2 A French/German/Chinese glossary is available at the end of the report.3 Despite Germany is also part of the Alpine Convention,th
32、e alpine range covers only a very limited part of its territory and the Alpine area of the country only hosts a fraction of the german ski resorts.Thus,Germany has not been consolidated with the Alpine countries in this report but with the rest of Western Europe.4 Some countries,like the US,calculat
33、e a specific participation rate for each season,which only covers the related seasons active skiers and may vary considerably from the nominal participation rate.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -8-Laurent Vanat Forewo
34、rd I am honoured to present the introduction to the 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism,the foremost globally recognised data resource.The author,Laurent Vanat,is recog-nised as a leading authority on the subject,and I have had the pleasure of collaborating with him for over a decade
35、as part of the International Ski Federation Development Programme activities,which support the athletes and competition activities in more than 50 nations.Sub-sequently during the past two years,we have had regular interaction mainly connected to both of our special expertise with skiing and snowspo
36、rts in China.The historic Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games have recently concluded after an action-packed 16 days of 109 events that showcased the skills of the very best across the huge variety of the different activities on snow and ice.These Games will have a unique legacy for the future of Snow
37、&Mountain Tourism in China,which has embraced snow sports with great enthusiasm,and this will also positively impact the ski industry internationally.The 14th edition of this esteemed publication is a special one as the world emerges step by step from the global pandemic that has impacted everyones
38、lives,and it has not eluded winter sports,tourism,the mountain populations or the snowsports industry either.Over the past two seasons,some countries allowed alpine skiing to take place,and the resorts were permitted to use their lifts subject to the installation of strict controlling measures.But t
39、his was not the case everywhere,and on the positive side as a result there is a whole new generation of touring“ski-mo”and cross-country skiing practitioners and both activities have boomed as a result.During the dark and difficult days of the pandemic,the mountains and the snow gave solace to many
40、persons to realise the benefits of the nature,the special spirit in the mountains and snow regions,the benefits of fresh air,being outside,moving,exercising.The 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism will undoubtedly provide fascinat-ing insights in the most comprehensive global analysis
41、 of the industry available to everyone.May I wish Laurent continued success with this important publication for the Tourism Industry.Sarah Lewis OBE OLY Global Sports Leader www.sarah- 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022
42、-9-Introduction This 14th edition of the International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism presents a winter season as the industry never experienced so far.After previous season was abruptly interrupted in most parts of the world by covid-19 outbreak,winter season 2020/21 has brought huge challenges fo
43、r the ski resorts around the world.With the developments of new waves and new variants of the pandemic,governments have been forced to edict numerous restrictions and sometimes lockdown measures.In many countries,panic reactions facing the uncertainty were how-ever avoided as far as ski resorts were
44、 concerned.Preventive measures were organized,often proactively by the industry itself.They allowed some countries to experience quality ski seasons and,in some places,attendance records reached high levels de-spite of the restrictions.Nowhere,the operation of ski resorts generated the appearance of
45、 covid-clusters that spread through-out countries.In fact,in many places,the ski resorts benefited from the desire of local populations to enjoy fresh air and physical activity.It is good to remind that skiing is a healthy activity.It allows strength-ening general endurance.Altitude naturally boosts
46、 the body by causing it to make more red blood cells to compensate for the scarcer oxygen.Skiing is also good for the heart.The scarcer ox-ygen at altitude requires more effort from the heart to give mus-cles what they need.Skiing helps muscle building,improves agility and balance together with the
47、movements coordination.Skiing stimulates the production of endorphins,the pleasure hormone.Tensions are released.Skiers benefit from the effects of pure air and sun to fill up with D vitamin,which boost the immune system and the morale.Going down the snowy slopes gives a feeling of freedom and a goo
48、d dose of adrenaline.After a day of skiing,stress decreases,concentration improves,with a feeling of gen-eral well-being that continues in daily life.The covid-19 impact on ski resorts operation Impact of the pandemic and restrictions that were connected has been very changing depending on the count
49、ries and the attitude governments adopted towards the ski resorts.In some places,individual resorts experienced record attendance levels in 2020/21 despite adverse conditions.This even some-times translated at national level,with very good levels of visitation recorded in a few countries and return
50、to pre-pandemic levels(China)or even better,as did United States and Russia.Several other countries managed to keep their skier visits at level of former season,with no further decrease,such as New Zealand and Switzerland.However,the governmental restrictions were sometimes so tight that they preven
51、ted ski resorts to operate.This has been 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -10-Laurent Vanat the case for some of the Alpine countries,with France and Italy keeping their resorts closed during the whole winter.The table
52、 below summarises the evolution of the attendance in a worldwide sample of ski destinations,with the change in skier visits to former pandemic-shortened season 2019/20.More detailed comments are supplied with each country section.The global impact of the pandemic and related restrictions over 2020/2
53、1 winter season attendance translated into a decrease of 37%in skier visits over the globe(to former shortened season 2019/20,which was already down 18%to former one).The highest impact was of course experienced in the Alpine countries,where the decline reached 78%.In other European destinations and
54、 Central Asia,the decline was limited around 32%.With the recovery of China,Asia Pacific region showed a 17%increase.The very good season in United States brought also America up 11%.Beside impacts on visitation,the pandemic had also some other effects on the operation of ski resorts and required so
55、metimes reinventing guest service to improve the resort experience,both for guests and staff.Sometimes,the pandemic put the pressure to implement some changes that were anyway contemplated or necessary.Resorts have become less transactional,with in-creased advance purchases,cashless payments and con
56、tactless access.Things that have been done the same way for years have suddenly changed.In the United States for instance,the lift line ticket checker was removed more than 20 years after Alpine resorts did so.The covid also pushed the customer to accept some changes he was reluctant to adopt,such a
57、s ad-vance purchase of ski tickets and dynamic pricing(which were accepted for decades for airlines and hotels,but not for ski resorts).By the way,not hav-ing to queue at the cash desk improved the guest experience.And the staff from cash desk could be used for more value-added customer service.Food
58、 pre-order was also introduced and demonstrated in some places an CountryChange to former seasonCommentsChina99%Back to business as usual or nearRomania76%Prevention measuresAustralia55%No return to normal,but less lockdowns than former seasonFinland46%Prevention measuresRussia33%Prevention measures
59、United States16%Prevention measuresSweden15%Prevention measuresSwitzerland0%Prevention measuresNew Zealand-1%Prevention measuresCanada-5%Prevention measuresIceland-5%Prevention measuresJapan-9%Prevention measuresNorway-13%Prevention measuresUnited Kingdom-40%Opening period shortened by lockdownsSpai
60、n-51%Opening period shortened by lockdowns and economic reasonsSlovenia-53%Opening period shortened by lockdowns and economic reasonsPoland-70%Opening period shortened by lockdownsAustria-80%Opening period shortened by lockdowns and economic reasonsAndorra-88%Opening period shortened by lockdownsCze
61、ch Republic-90%Opening period shortened by lockdownsSlovakia-90%Opening period shortened by lockdownsGermany-99%Resorts closed for nearly all the seasonFrance-99%Resorts closed for the entire seasonItaly-100%Resorts closed for the entire season 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Over
62、view of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -11-innovative approach for enhancing food outlets performance.Rental infor-mation was also pre-entered with the booking,so the process at rental shop was much smoother,ending in a less stressful and better customer experi-ence.Open terrain
63、 in ski areas in Europe and North America The above chart is based on the analysis of kilometres of slopes open indicated in snow reports from a sample of 900 ski areas in Europe and North America,includ-ing the large resorts.It gives a good picture of the change in the skiing offer avail-able befor
64、e covid-19 outbreak and after,as well as of the impact of the lockdown of most of the Alpine resorts during winter 2020/21.Source:Christoph Schrahe,Montenius Consult A season high in contrasts After previous ski season was already reported as the worst season of the current millennium,with 319.5 mil
65、lion skier visits worldwide,the lockdown of Alpine ski areas led to an even worse figure of 201.2 million skier visits for 2020/21.As already mentioned above,the impact of the pandemic was experienced very differently in ski resorts and countries around the world at the level of visitation figures.I
66、t temporarily changed completely the ranking in the ski markets,with China ending up at the second place as far as 2020/21 skier visits are concerned,after United States,but just before Japan and Switzer-land(as Austria,France and Italy,which usually occupy the top ranks,were partly out of the game)
67、.Beside this very contrasted picture,some other highlights also marked the 2020/21 winter.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -12-Laurent Vanat The season was longer than usual in several places,with some ski resorts in c
68、ountries like Switzerland and Slovenia still open in June,when these resorts are usually closed.Despite the lockdown in France lasted up to end of May,a couple of ski resorts there managed to offer special week-end openings end of May or beginning of June to a limited number of guests,as they still
69、had unusual amounts of snow on their slopes.Travel restrictions abroad has supported the growth in domestic visitation to levels yet unreached in some Eastern countries.Russia and Romania had their ever-best seasons in 2020/21.United States recorded a new enthusiasm of its population for skiing.The
70、industry got there more than 1 million new or returning participants,re-turning to levels that were usual during the first decade of the century.Comforted by the pandemic restrictions,the advanced purchase model,together with multi-resorts season passes and the wider adoption of dy-namic pricing con
71、tinued to shape some transformation of the traditional tickets sale business model and increase the reliability of the revenue base.The industry has remained dedicated to delivering extraordinary experiences to the skiers and will be trying even harder over the next years.Methodology Although data c
72、ollection within the industry is not always well-organised,various organisations and entities usually collect ski resort data at a national level.This information has been compiled to produce an international over-view of the key figures for the industry.For some countries,since data is lacking or i
73、ncomplete,some research has been conducted in order to either collect or consolidate detailed national data or to extrapolate figures based on known benchmarks.Numerous sources were checked to ensure the most accurate figures.Some general information was also provided from global directories or stat
74、istics.Although some definitions may vary from one country to another,they do generally not involve large bias in the benchmarking of the key figures for the industry5 presented in this report.Under the country review section,charts are presented for those where at-tendance at ski resorts is measure
75、d and consolidated on a yearly basis.On the charts,in addition to yearly data,the evolution of the 5-year average has also been included(blue line).It helps to understand the long-term trend for each of these markets.5 Please refer to the Glossary at the front of the document for detailed definition
76、s of the terms employed.See also the Disclaimer,in relation of reliability of the figures and possible changes over the years,from one issue of the report to the next.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -13-The world ski
77、market Participating countries Accounting for ski countries may vary according to the definition of skiing and of a ski area.There are currently 68 countries in the world that offer equipped outdoor ski areas covered with snow.They are shown colour-coded on the map below.62 are located in the Northe
78、rn Hemisphere while 6 are located in the Southern Hemisphere,with a ski season in opposed time.While people ski in the North,they go to the beach in the South,and reverse.Taking into account indoor facilities6,mountaineering-only areas and other types of facilities such as dry slopes,the figure can
79、be as high as 1007.Besides the major ski destinations in terms of skier visits,there are a number of other destinations,where skiing has been an industry for a long time,or is currently developing.The most obvious emerging destination is of course China,together with some Eastern European countries,
80、but there are a num-ber of other small players spread out across the globe:Cyprus,Greece,India,Iran,Israel,Lebanon,Lesotho,Morocco,New Zealand,Pakistan,South Af-rica,Turkey and many more.6 There are about 90 indoor snow centres operating in 20 countries around the world.7 According to a detailed bre
81、akdown prepared by famous ski-journalist Patrick Thorne.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -14-Laurent Vanat The 68 countries offering equipped outdoor ski areas covered with snow are described in detail in this report.T
82、he report covers 4 additional countries,which no longer have any organised ski area in operation but used to offer skiing:Afghanistan,Algeria,Bolivia and Colombia.100 countries offer skiing?Famous ski journalist Patrick Thorne(Snowhunter)published in a 2013 press re-lease his count of countries wher
83、e it is possible to ski.He concluded that 100 countries across all continents have reliable snow coverage for all or part of the year,or artificial surface slopes,to allow snow sports.How does this figure rec-oncile with the data published in the International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism?Now tha
84、t the International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism completed taking inventory,which started with the edition issued in 2009,it features reports on 68 countries having at least one ski area with lifts.4 additional countries once had one or more ski lifts,but these are no longer in operation(Algeria,
85、Afghanistan,Bolivia and Colombia are also written up in this document and still offer unorgan-ised skiing opportunities).14 others countries offer some permanent or temporary snow coverage in some mountains,making it technically possible to ski:Bhutan,with snow covered mountains in winter;Democratic
86、 Republic of the Congo,with a glacier and occasional snowfall on the highest peaks;Ecuador,with glaciers and occasional snowfall on the highest peaks;Ethiopia,with occasional snowfall on the highest peaks;Indonesia,with some small quickly-melting glaciers;Kenya,with occasional snowfall on the highes
87、t peaks;Moldova,featuring some unequipped hills with limited vertical,where the locals use to go skiing;Myanmar,with high snow-covered mountains at the Himalayan border,and even a projected ski resort;Nicaragua,with the highest volcano receiving snow every few years;Peru,with tropical glaciers and s
88、nowfall in the mountains in winter,and possibly even some temporary lifts;Syria,with snow in the mountains in winter(a ski resort was in planning before the civil war);Tanzania,with a glacier and occasional snowfall on the highest peaks;Uganda,with a glacier and occasional snowfall on the highest pe
89、aks;Venezuela,with a snowfield at the top of the Merida lift,not usually used for skiing.With these,the total reaches 86 countries where outdoor skiing is possible on snow8.There are a further 15 countries offering either indoor ski centres or out-door dry slopes,bringing in fact the total to 101.8
90、Issue has also been raised to know if Turkmenistan was to be included in this listing.Despite rumors of a ski resort project,it has not yet materialised.The very scarce snowfall in the country would require 100%snowmaking and does not seem to allow enjoying any skiing in natural conditions.2022 Inte
91、rnational Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -15-Ski resorts and infrastructure According to the latest inventory,5764 ski areas have been identified worldwide(equipped outdoor ski areas covered with snow).As some only offer rudimentary eq
92、uipment,with a limited number of lifts,a threshold has been set for the purpose of this report.Those 1945 areas that feature more than 4 lifts are qualified as ski resorts.It is estimated that the industry currently offers about 6 million commercial beds in the mountains.These are primarily concentr
93、ated in the industrialised ski markets,which have a high volume of skier visits.Based on the latest situation,the key figures for ski resorts and their equip-ment are presented in following tables.The colour of each bar/slice matches with that of the geographical area shown on the above map.The shar
94、e of the Alpine countries in the global ski industry is emphasised by its weight in the distribution of:Number of ski resorts worldwide(1945 resorts):39%of all ski resorts are located in the Alpine countries.Number of lifts worldwide(25093 lifts):With 39%of the lifts,the Alpine countries feature mor
95、e than the double of lifts than the next larg-est region.Number of major resorts worldwide(52 resorts):There are a lim-ited number of major resorts worldwide9.79%of them are located in the Alps.9 A resort is considered as major if its attendance reaches over 1 million skier visits per winter season.
96、Number of resortsNumber of liftsNumber of major resorts0%20%40%60%80%100%Alpine countriesWestern EuropeEastern Europe&Central AsiaAmericaAsia&PacificVariousFigure 1:Regional weight of global ski resorts offer 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for
97、 ski resorts April 2022 -16-Laurent Vanat The major ski resorts worldwide have been ranked below based on their average annual skier visits10 during the last 5 winter seasons,ending 2019/2011 Most of the industry is concentrated around the resorts that generate more than 100000 skier visits per year
98、.Even if they only account for 13%of the resorts,they account for 74%of all skier visits worldwide.Although often important at a regional level,the altitude of a ski resort is not really an important benchmark worldwide,since at some places around the globe one can ski at sea level,whereas in other
99、countries,one needs to be at much higher elevations to access decent snow conditions.10 Publicised data or estimates when required;based on the operating company or marketing operator.11 Due to the full closure of some alpine resorts during winter 2020/21,5-year averages have not been updated in pre
100、sent issue.0,01,02,03,0Campiglio Dolomiti di BrentaSki ArlbergLa PlagneSkicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm LeogangWhistler BlackcombSkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-BrixentalLes ArcsGardena/Alpe di SiussiIschgl/Samnaun Silvretta ArenaSnow Space SalzburgVal Thorens/OrelleSchladming 4BergeGrandvaliraBreckenridgeSerfa
101、us-Fiss-LadisSlenSoeldenChamonix/Les HouchesVailZillertal 3000-MayrhofenCourchevel-Mribel-MottaretTignesLes MnuiresZillertal ArenaKitzbuhelPark CityZermattAlta BadiaPlan de CoronesVal dIsreFlaine-Morillon-SamoensLAlpe dHuezVal di Fassa/CarezzaSerre-ChevallierreArosa LenzerheideLes Deux-AlpesSilvrett
102、a MontafonAdelboden-LenkDavos-KlostersKeystoneSestriere Via LatteaAvoriazMammothVerbierCopper MountainLivignoTrysilKaprun-KitzsteinhornHochzillertal-Hochfuegen-KaltenbachSt.MoritzStubaier GletscherFigure 2:Top world resorts in millions of skier visits 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Touri
103、sm-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -17-Evolution of worldwide skier visits Since beginning of 2000s,yearly visitation to ski resorts varies mainly due to weather conditions and has been fluctuating between 350 and 380 million skier visits worldwide12.The total figure
104、has been rather stable,as major mature markets experienced reduced growth(when not experiencing a dra-matic decline as with Japan),while other markets were emerging.The chart above reflects the evolution of skier visits distributed by regions since winter 2000/0113.Only bad weather and snow conditio
105、ns of winter 2006/07 involved an abrupt decline in visitation nearly such as did covid-19 for the 2019/20 season,with abrupt closing of the resorts over the world in March 2020.It translated into only 319.5 million skier visits recorded world-wide.However,Alpine countries lockdown during winter 2020
106、/21 generated the most dramatic shortfall in visitation over the period,with only 201.2 million skier visits recorded.Market share in worldwide skier visits The relative importance of the major destinations is showed in the pie chart hereafter.Clearly,the Alps are the biggest ski destination in the
107、world,cap-turing 40%of skier visits(even if the chart is based on 5-year average,the 12 Adding visitors to indoor ski centres and dry slopes,the figure reaches and average of 400 million,which has been for a long time an approximate overall draw.13 Contratry to former issues of this report where thi
108、s figure only showed the skier visits for countries where yearly statistics where available,current edition features the total estimated skier visits per regions.It includes estimates for the countries where the data are not available.Data however exclude visitation in skidomes for most countries(ex
109、cept China,where they are included in total visitation numbers).0500300350400450VariousAmericaEasternEurope&Central AsiaAsia&PacificWesternEuropeAlpinecountriesFigure 3:Evolution of skier visits per region(millions)2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key ind
110、ustry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -18-Laurent Vanat impact of lockdown is noticeable,with a 3%market share loss).The second biggest destination is America(mostly North America),accounting for 23%of skier visits worldwide.Asia&Pacific used to have the same market share as America.However,the c
111、ontinuous decline of the industry in Japan has still not been replaced by the growing ski market in China.Northern,Southern and Western European non-Alpine countries(grouped under the label of Western Europe)also attract 10%of the market,even if skier visits are spread primarily over a large number
112、of small resorts.Skiers per region of origin The total number of skiers worldwide was estimated based on both the num-ber of skier visits in the various countries as well as on the national rates of participation14.The figure is currently estimated to be around 135 million and seems to be growing,th
113、anks to the development in Eastern Europe and Asia15.Although some countries have no ski areas(in some instances only ski domes),they have skiers who ski abroad.For example,this is the case with the Netherlands,which accounts for about 1 million outbound skiers.14 It must however be stressed that th
114、e number of days actually skied per potential skier may vary signif-icantly from one country to another.Skiers are considered independent from their frequency of visit to ski areas see glossary.15 Interestingly,this is not yet fully reflected in the evolution of skier visits,as the participation rat
115、e of new entrants is still lower than those of declining skiing populations.Alpine countries40%Western Europe10%Eastern Europe&Central Asia10%America23%Asia&Pacific16%Various1%Figure 4:repartition of skier visits worldwide 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key indust
116、ry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -19-This chart,comparing to skier visits,clearly shows the regions that are ex-porters of skiers and those that are recipients.The Alps is the most interna-tionally visited ski destination,attracting most of the inbound-skier travel.Even though it hosts 40%of sk
117、ier visits,it only produces 16%of the skiers.No other region has such a high proportion of foreign visitors.International skiers flows The international flows of skiers are primarily concentrated within Europe.The number of skiers using long haul flights to go skiing is rather small.For instance,ove
118、rseas skiers represented only 3.5%of total skier visits to US ski resorts in 2016/17(including Latin American visitors).The weight of interna-tional customers is limited for most ski destination countries.Moreover,the international catchment areas are also limited,due to various issues such as marke
119、t size,transportation,travel time and costs,and possible saturation of airports at ski destinations in Europe.Worldwide,in a global perspective,the share of foreign visitors in the number of skiers is limited to about 10%of total participants.There are few big players both in the inbound and in the
120、outbound markets.Skiing is mostly based on the domestic markets and the national customer base is very strong in most of the big playing countries.Often,foreign visitors are concentrated in a few top international resorts.There are only 2 big outbound markets,Germany and the United Kingdom,providing
121、 skiers to a few inbound markets.Most of the outbound countries have few to no ski areas but a ski culture.This is an important issue,as countries with no ski culture are not likely to be major suppliers of interna-tional skiers,even if they have huge populations.The major international skiers flows
122、 concentrate on a very limited number of destinations.The table hereafter ranks the flows for over 200000 yearly skiers.Alpine countries16%Western Europe24%Eastern Europe&Central Asia13%America23%Asia&Pacific22%Various2%Figure 5:distribution of skiers by region of origin 2022 International Report on
123、 Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -20-Laurent Vanat Inbound country Outbound country Germany United Kingdom Nether-lands Belgium Switzer-land United States Austria 1 6 4 13 9#N/A France 14 3 7 8 21#N/A Italy 2 12 18 40 41#N/A Switzerland 5 19 16 3
124、2#N/A 63 Canada#N/A 79#N/A#N/A#N/A 10 Outbound European markets are not increasing but may be spread over more destinations in the future.For instance,British customers familiar with the Alps and Andorra now also have other destinations to choose from such as Bulgaria,Romania,Slovakia,etc.It is also
125、 foreseeable that the new markets will supply themselves at a regional level.The recent growth of skiing in Asia will feed resorts in Japan and South Korea,before eventually,if ever,bene-fiting resorts in the European Alps or North America.Future trends On the western markets,the high competition to
126、 ski activities combined with the demographics and the stagnation of the middle class do not provide for substantial development perspectives.In addition,with the exception of a few resorts in Canada,no new resorts have been created in the traditional markets since the start of the century.As it app
127、ears from figures 4 and 5,the regions of Eastern Europe&Central Asia and Asia&Pacific provide 35%of the skiers worldwide,but only pro-duce,at this stage,26%of skier visits.These regions clearly represent the future growth potential of the market.Besides,a look at new deliveries of lifts confirms tha
128、t Eastern European and Asian countries are building up at a higher rate than the more traditional ski regions,if the figures are analysed in relative terms.In Eastern Europe&Central Asia,the growth is however still partly to be expected.It does not materialise as quickly as the prospects of the earl
129、y 2010s were promising.The renewal and introduction of new lift infrastructure does not seem to have brought large effects yet.Even if Poland,Slovakia and Czech Republic have pretty well modernised their resorts,attendance still seems rather stagnant.Other Eastern European countries where the in-dus
130、try was less developed did not either achieve to build all the ski areas that they had planned.Several big resorts development projects have been put on hold or did not materialise to the extend originally planned.This low-ers somehow the future growth expectations that could be placed on this regio
131、n.Unfortunately,some projects had unrealistic expectations of interna-tional visitation and the concern for getting domestic clients has been under-estimated.In China,consumption patterns of skiing still need to be improved,so that skiers show a higher commitment to the sport and visit more often th
132、e ski 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -21-areas than currently.Despite the growth perspective of the number of skiers in China still remains,their impact on ski area visitation will highly depend on the dedication to
133、skiing that Chinese skiers will gain.Therefore,even if the growth potential of the Eastern Europe&Central Asia and Asia&Pacific regions remains,it is not clear when it will actually be materialised in the skier visits statistics.Indoor ski centres Earlier versions of indoor snow centres date back to
134、 the 1920s in Berlin and Vienna and in the early 1950s,a complex using crushed ice as a snow surface for part of the year opened in Seibu,Japan.Now fitted with an artificial slope surface under the snow,this complex celebrated 60 years of operations in 2012.The longest established and still operatio
135、nal real snow indoor snow centre is generally agreed to be Tamworth Snowdome in the UK,which opened in 1993.More than 100 indoor snow centres have been built in approximately 30 countries over the past 25 years,and around 90 are still operational.Some of them are dedicated to cross-country skiing(sk
136、i tunnels)and some are only snow experience areas.The number offering downhill skiing is closer to 70.Over the recent years,the number of indoor ski areas in China has been growing tremendously.19 In-door ski centres opened in China between 2015 and 2018.The distribution of operating indoor downhill
137、 ski centres is presented hereafter.China is the country in the world offering the highest number of indoor ski centres(36),followed by the Netherlands,United Kingdom,Germany,Japan and India.The largest one in terms of slope surface area is the Harbin Wanda Snow Park,in China,and in terms of slopes
138、length is the Amneville Snow Hall in France.Alpine countries1%Western Europe30%Eastern Europe&Central Asia3%America3%Asia&Pacific58%Various5%2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -22-Laurent Vanat Country benchmark-top 20 T
139、he current chapter explores the largest players in the industry,considered on various criteria.Although the ranking is usually done on all the market players,or at least those presenting significative data,the charts hereafter generally only show the top 20 countries ranked.The United States,Japan,F
140、rance and Italy have the most ski resorts with more than 200 each(not included are small ski areas with less than 5 lifts see glossary).Figure 6:Number of ski resorts with more than 4 lifts If Germany also shows a significant number of ski areas,most of them are very small ones that are not consider
141、ed as ski resorts under the definition used in this report.Japan also features a very high number of ski areas,but a large part are small ones.Figure 7:Number of ski resorts with more than 1 million skier visits 0500300350400United StatesFranceItalyAustriaJapanChinaSwitzerlandCanadaSweden
142、RussiaCzech RepublicGermanyNorwaySlovakiaPolandFinlandSpainSloveniaKorea,SouthGreece0246810121416AustriaFranceItalyUnited StatesSwitzerlandSwedenCanadaNorwayAndorra 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -23-Only Austria and
143、 France have more than 10 resorts that generate over 1 million skier visits per season.Thanks to recent lift-interconnexions be-tween ski resorts,Austria now accounts for a higher number of such resorts than France,which used to host the highest number of very large ski resorts for a long time.Franc
144、e,Austria and the United States top the list of countries with the most lifts,with about 3000 each.Figure 8:Number of lifts per major country 05000250030003500FranceUnited StatesAustriaItalyJapanGermanySwitzerlandCanadaSwedenCzech RepublicPolandChinaNorwayRussiaSlovakiaSpainFinlandSloveni
145、aKorea,SouthAustralia 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -24-Laurent Vanat They are also the countries posting the highest 5-year average skier visits figures,despite the score of Austria and France has been severely dam
146、aged by their national lockdowns.Over recent history,the first rank often changed between the top-3 players.United States are now back on the first rank for a few years,followed by Austria and France.Figure 9:Skier visits per country(5-year average,in millions)South Korea features a record-breaking
147、figure as far as skier visits pro-duced per lift is concerned,with 22400 skier visits generated per lift per season.The number of skier visits per lift is also higher in Canada and the United States than in other countries.This reflects the difference in business model from Europe where an emphasis
148、is placed on lift mechanics and so-phisticated infrastructure.With more than 1300 million inhabitants,the biggest national market of the sample is China,far greater than any other.However,at this stage,the size of the ski industry is not proportional.India,which also has over one billion inhabitants
149、,still has a very low number of skiers.The United States represent the largest mature market,with a population of over 300 million inhabitants.The Lichtensteinese,Swiss and Austrians are the populations with the high-est nominal participation rates,with more than 30%of the population participating i
150、n skiing.0204060United StatesAustriaFranceJapanItalySwitzerlandCanadaChinaRussiaSwedenNorwayGermanyPolandCzech RepublicSpainKorea,SouthSlovakiaFinlandAndorraAustralia 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -25-Figure 10:Part
151、icipation rate of the population(nominal)However,since they benefit from much larger populations,the United States,Germany and China account for the highest number of national skiers.China is new on the top-3 podium further to the continuous growth of par-ticipants numbers.Formerly,Japan occupied th
152、e 3rd rank but is now losing some ageing skiers.Figure 11:Number of national skiers(nominal-in millions)France,the United States and Spain are the countries with the most for-eign tourists,but it is only in France that they provide a noticeable benefit 0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%LiechtensteinSwitzerla
153、ndAustriaFinlandNorwayCzech RepublicAndorraIcelandSwedenSlovakiaGermanySloveniaPolandFranceItalyNetherlandsCanadaDenmarkBelgiumMontenegro0102030United StatesGermanyChinaJapanFranceItalyUnited KingdomPolandCanadaRussiaAustriaSwitzerlandKorea,SouthSpainCzech RepublicNetherlandsSwedenFinlandBelgiumNorw
154、ay 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -26-Laurent Vanat to ski resorts.Most foreign visitors,however,do not come to ski.For the 2 other countries,foreign tourists only marginally contribute to the number of visits to ski
155、 resorts.Figure 12:Proportion of national and foreign skiers In nearly every country,the main portion of skier visits consists of domestic skiers.Apart from some anecdotic small ski destination countries,there are only 2 major markets worldwide where international customers represent more than half
156、of skier visits.In Andorra and Austria,foreign customers rep-resent respectively 92%and 66%of all skier visits.Besides posting a record proportion of foreign skier visits,these countries also have the highest ratio of skier visits per inhabitant and per foreign visitor of the sample,clearly showing
157、the importance of winter tourism.All ski destinations that are not shown in above chart have only 20%or less international visitors in their ski areas.0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%Proportion national skiersProportion foreign skiers 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of t
158、he key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -27-Summer ski options Currently up to 8 glaciers open at some point between June and September in Austria(although half of these close at the start of June and do not re-open until late September),3 in Italy,3 in France,3 in Norway,2 in Switzerland
159、 and 1 each in Canada and the United States.In the 1980s and 1990s,up to 40 resorts,primarily in the Alps,opened for summer skiing with famous resorts including Verbier,La Plagne,Zugspitze,Val Thorens,Monterosa and Marmolada offering this option.While many of these resorts stopped offering summer sn
160、ow sports at the start of this century,the numbers have remained relatively constant for the past decade.The maximum number of ski areas open in July and August is now a dozen,alt-hough Hintertux in Austria,Zermatt in Switzerland and Timberline in Oregon,United States,are usually open more-or-less y
161、ear-round(except for weather/maintenance breaks).Source:Snowhunter The Worlds 6 Summer-Only Ski Areas There is a short time window each year when the 6 ski areas that only open during spring or summer are all open at once.Because of unpredictable snow conditions some years,that does not happen every
162、 year and in 2020 it was particularly welcome news as it was unclear whether any would be able to open due to the virus pandemic.The summer only areas are different to those winter resorts that stay-open,or re-open,offering high altitude glacier skiing in the summer like Zermatt or Val dIsere;and th
163、ey are not Southern Hemisphere ski areas where resorts only open between late autumn through winter to early spring.They are Northern Hemisphere ski areas in locations,which are often cut off by snow in winter,or too cold and dark to operate in the winter season.The 6 are Beartooth Basin on the Wyom
164、ing/Montana border in the United States;Passo Stelvio in Italy,Gassan in Japan and 3 glacier ski areas in Norway.All 6 were open for the first time in 2020 as Passo Stelvio and the Stryn Glacier 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts A
165、pril 2022 -28-Laurent Vanat in Norway opened for their 2020 seasons.Stelvio had been delayed by the pan-demic whilst Stryn opened a fortnight later than planned as there was so much spring snow to dig away to get to it.Gassan re-opened at the start of the month having been closed in May due to the p
166、andemic lockdown in Japan.Despite re-ceiving unseasonable early summer snowfalls,which sometimes blocks access to the slopes,Beartooth Basin says its operation is on a day-to-day basis as summer thawing means rocks are increasingly appearing through the snow.A seventh mostly-spring-skiing area,Riksg
167、ransen in Sweden,usually opens from late-February to late May.In 2020,it was one of the few ski areas in the world to operate through the pandemic.It traditionally opens for 3 days of skiing and boarding around Midsummer,offering the novelty of snow sports under the mid-night sun in its northerly lo
168、cation within the Arctic Circle where there is 24-hour daylight at this time of year.Source:Snowhunter 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -29-Alpine countries The Alpine countries are by far the largest inbound ski marke
169、t on the planet,capturing 40%of worldwide attendance.It is also the most intensely equipped region of the industry,totalling more than 10000 lifts.Unsurpris-ingly,it is home to 4 of the major players of the ski industry.Although geo-graphically part of Western Europe,the Alpine countries have been t
170、reated as a separate group in this report,due to their importance in terms of market share.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -30-Laurent Vanat Austria Part of the Alps,Austria is covered mostly by mountains.68%of the co
171、untry is located above 500 me-ters.Only the eastern side of the country partly consists of low-lands.The Alps cover 62%of the land area,culminating with the Grossglockner at 3798 meters above sea level.Thus,contrary to the other Alpine countries,Austria does not feature any summit above 4000 meters.
172、Winter sports already appeared in Austria at the end of the 19th cen-tury.Some ski competitions were organized as early as 1906 and the first ski schools emerged.The Arlberg ski teaching method was the standard at that time.In the 1930s,ski schools and ski clubs were founded in several locations.In
173、1936,the first surface lift was installed and in 1947,the first chairlift.Together with the slope preparation,they contributed to making winter sports increasingly popular.Many of farmers villages in the mountains discovered the opportunities winter tourism offered,and after Second World War,it prog
174、ressively developed into a major industry.Ski resorts have never ceased to improve.With more than EUR 6 billion spent during the last decade,Austrian operators have been massively investing,showing the most updated lift infrastructure of the industry.746 new lifts16 have been installed over the peri
175、od 2000 to 2020.To some extent,or when measured to other countries standards,the infrastructure in some places even tends to be luxurious,with equipment such as 8-seater detachable chairlifts with heated seats,bubbles and automated underground parking.It is worth noting that the economic sustainabil
176、ity of such a high level of in-vestment is still difficult to demonstrate,when more than 50%of revenues have been reinvested for several consecutive years.The industry now also covers more than 60%of the slopes with snowmaking.A yearly average of EUR 140 million has been invested on snowmaking over
177、the last 10 years.Austria has a strong ski culture and remains the only country where schools still go on ski weeks on a regular basis.For the observer,there is a high level of individuality between the ski resorts,and the business models of the Alpine villages show some particularities.Austria is t
178、he European country with the largest hotel accommodation offering and the lowest number of secondary homes.Since most of these hotels are family-owned17,they still have a very 16 Including lift renewals.17 The same families also often own shares in the lift companies.2022 International Report on Sno
179、w&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -31-conservative approach to marketing,but benefit from loyal re-turning customers.The owners invest very regularly to main-tain rooms and infrastructure up to date,resulting in a very good price/quality ratio of most
180、 of the accommodations.This seems to be successful with both the domestic and the large German and Dutch customer base(respectively 12%,47%and 12%of overnight stays18).In fact,the country is a big importer of skiers:Austria is the country in the world that wel-comes the highest number of foreign ski
181、ers.Even if the level of traditional German clients has been rather stagnant for more than 20 years now,and Russian clients showed a sharp decline after Winter 2014,Austrian ski resorts still benefit from a global increase of foreign guests.Most nationalities are up possibly a switch from Switzerlan
182、d due to the rise of the Swiss currency.Domestic cus-tomers remain stable.A couple of Austrian resorts have a very strong market positioning.Some,although not connected,have joint marketing efforts,showing an example of a new dynamic.Despite the fact that it is not possible to ski between each of th
183、e resorts,the benefits of using this common brand have appeared,for instance by allowing higher pricing and joint advertising actions.By the way,the number of interconnected resorts has been growing over the recent years.The race to become Austrias biggest interconnected resort seems to be open!In t
184、he western part of the country,Tyrol is likely to be the most densely ski-resort populated area in the world.With 79 ski areas and 480 major lifts19,Tyrol captures 49%of Austrian skier visits.Large ski resorts can also be found in Vorarlberg,Salzburg and Carinthia.The smaller ski resorts in the east
185、ern regions are visited by guests from the Vienna area and neighbouring Slovakia and Hungary,mostly just for day trips.Austrian ski resorts are working to improve their climate-friendliness.A large number of projects are continuously improving the share of renewable ener-gies.In the area of mobility
186、,the industry is relying on a strong cooperation 18 Figures from the 2017/18 winter season,Statistik Austria,Tyrol,Salzburg&Vorarlberg.19 Not taking into account the surface lifts.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -32-L
187、aurent Vanat with BB Railtours(products such as In the Nightjet to the Snow for in-stance).With an average yearly increase of 2.25%since beginning of the century up to the record 56.9 million skier visits in 2008/09 season,Austrias best ever season,the country had been continuously growing its atten
188、dance.Then,yearly attendance began to decrease,as with other Alpine destinations.De-spite very good visitation figures during the 2012/13 winter,the situation then stagnated at lower levels,translating to an overall decline in the long-term trend up to winter 2015/16.Season 2016/17 however looked be
189、tter and the 5-year average trended on the rise again.This was confirmed by the 2017/18 winter,with a further increase of 4.8%in attendance.Due to poorer figures in France and the United States,Austrian ranked first on the winter 2017/18 skier visits podium for the first time in recent history.Despi
190、te good attendance also in 2018/19,top of the podium was recovered by the United States that over performed.Season 2019/20 was cut short by the covid-19.The industry was right on track until the official closure of the operations,but then had to accept heavy losses.Despite the figures for the season
191、 showed a decrease in visitation of 13.0%compared to 2018/19,the period between November 2019 and Feb-ruary 2020 saw an increase of 8.4%in skier visits over former season and an even higher increase in sales.Winter 2020/21 was simply catastrophic in terms of attendance,as commercial overnight accomm
192、odations were under lockdown.The business was overall down by 90%,with large resorts that relied on international visitors hardest hit.Smaller resorts that had a local 00000030000000400000005000000060000000Yearly value5-year averageFigure 13:Austria,evolution of skier visits 2022 Internat
193、ional Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -33-client base not requiring overnight accommodation saw however a smaller drop.Covid-19 impacts Some glacier ski area opened in autumn,but government decided a lockdown starting November 3rd 2020,
194、for the whole month.Only professional teams were able to train.During Christmas/New Year,resorts were opening only for local skiers.FFP2 masks were made compulsory in some regions and consequently some resorts decided not to open.Hotels and restaurants were closed.Wider opening was scheduled for Jan
195、uary 7 and rescheduled to 18 and then February 8 but did not happen.Access measures were even strengthened during the season.Tyrol required a 48-hour recent covid test to access the slopes.This led some resorts to decide to close in mid-February,such as Soelden(which later on announced reopening).Sk
196、iWelt closed on 7 March for economic reasons(lack of visitors;the resort did not break even a single day in the season).Ischgl,which did not open since the beginning of the season,decided early March it would keep closed for the whole winter.Most of the resorts still open closed after Easter,even if
197、 some use to stay open longer in a normal season.End of May,with the re-opening of hospitality,some glacier resorts decided to resume operations.The largest ski resorts of Austria,based on attendance,are,Hochzillertal-Hochfuegen-Kaltenbach,Ischgl/Samnaun Silvretta Arena,Kaprun-Kitzsteinhorn,Kitzbuhe
198、l,Schladming 4Berge,Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis,Silvretta Montafon,Ski Arlberg(including Lech,Zrs-Warth,St.Anton,St.Christoph and Stuben),Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrun,SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental,Snow Space Salzburg(including Flachau-Wagrein-St.Johann,),Soelden,Stubaier Gletscher,Zill
199、ertal 3000 Mayrhofen and Zillertal Arena.Most of them are based in Tyrol.Austrialiftsskier visits per national skierskier visits per inhabitantmajor resorts(1 mio SV)skier visits per liftskier visits per foreign visitor1.71.15.043580000average skier visitsProportion foreign skiers2930253ski areas148
200、742960000national skiers15Participation rate nationalsSki areas with 5 lifts or more79%34%66%2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -34-Laurent Vanat 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key ind
201、ustry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -35-France France hosts,together with Italy,the highest summit of the Alps(Mont Blanc,topping at 4808 me-ters above sea level).There are 24 Alpine peaks that reach over 4000 meters in France.If the French ski resorts in the Alps are the largest and most well-
202、known,several other mountain ranges in the country have ski resorts:the Jura,the Pyr-enees,the Massif Central and the Vosges.There is even a ski area in Corsica Island.France saw the first Winter Olym-pics Games,held in Chamonix in 1924.At that date however,they did not include downhill skiing compe
203、ti-tions.Ski began to develop in France in the 1930s and Chamonix was joined by other mountain villages,like Mgve.After a first development phase of ski areas around existing villages,French developers began to build resorts from scratch.It first started with village-like resorts such as Courchevel
204、and then moved to high altitude densely urbanised integrated resorts,which saw construction of big housing blocs in the mountain in the 1960s and 1970s.With its Plan neige,the French Government highly supported the develop-ment of these suburb-looking mountain towns,such as La Plagne,Val Thorens,Avo
205、riaz,les Arcs,Tignes and others.Last and most recent de-velopment phase returned to more village-like lower altitude resorts,smaller and better integrated in the environment.Some of the major French resorts that were created from scratch,initially as integrated operations,were later on dismantled in
206、 the 1980s and lift opera-tions were distributed among numerous actors,giving birth to the Compagnie des Alpes,which has been for a long time the worlds largest ski resort op-erator20.France is the only European country with such a dominant operator who runs nearly all the major resorts(12 large Alp
207、ine resorts totalling around 15 million skier visits are operated fully or partly by Compagnie des Alpes).There are also a few other smaller operators that manage lifts for several ski areas,such as Labellemontagne and Altiservice.Savoie Stations Participation is a public/private company that holds
208、interests in 17 ski areas.In France,ski lifts are still considered a public service,and some of the operating com-panies are either partially owned or even directly managed by municipalities.Another particularity of French resorts,especially in the big purpose-built resorts,is the extremely high pro
209、portion of apartment housing.Hotels are quite rare and most customers spend their ski week in what is called a R-sidence de tourisme,which are to some extent the French equivalent of the 20 Before this leading position was overtaken by Vail Resorts in 2021.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain
210、Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -36-Laurent Vanat North American condos,with much less surface area per guest,and with a level of comfort in many cases still based on the standards of the 1970s.This latter issue is even be-coming a problem,as it generates a de
211、crease in the number of beds that can be properly marketed.The largest and most attended ski resorts in France are mostly located in Savoie and Haute-Savoie,beside 3 spread between Isre and Alpes du Sud.All of the following resorts have average winter visitation over 1 million skier visits:Avoriaz,C
212、hamonix/Les Houches,Courchevel-Mri-bel-Mottaret,Flaine-Morillon-Samoens,La Plagne,LAlpe dHuez,Les Arcs,Les Deux-Alpes,Les M-nuires,Serre-Chevallier,Tignes,Val dIsre,Val Thorens/Orelle.Although France is the number one destination in terms of arrivals in world tourism,the ski industry is still primar
213、ily driven by the domestic market.How-ever,the domestic market is very mature,with a number of skier visits that shows a slight declining trend after an inflection point in winter 2012/13.On the other hand,there are about 2 million foreign skiers who visit France each winter season and their number
214、used to tend growing and compensate the retiring domestic customers.The British represent one quarter,followed by the Italians,Belgians,Germans and Russians.The latter became increasingly numerous at ski resorts,accounting for 7%to 9%overnight stays in hotels,before the Ukrainian crisis.Nevertheless
215、,the 5-year skier visit average trend-ing slightly downwards for several years highlights the overall trend in Eu-rope.Both domestic and foreign customer bases are flattening and it will be imperative in the very near future to find new ways to introduce massively new clienteles to skiing.Covid-19 i
216、mpacts Tignes and les 2 Alpes had to close on October 29,2020 due to lockdown.Val Thorens was expected to open on November 21,2020 but had to postpone.Same for Val dIsre,Grand Tourmalet and les Angles,expected to open on November 28,2020.Then French government decided resorts would remain closed up
217、to January 7,2021 at least.Decision to open was then postponed to January 13,2021 and then 20,when it was decided not to open beginning of February and suggested resorts would remain closed for the whole season,which ended up being the case.When restrictions were lowered,it was finally announced in
218、May that some lifts could reopen starting May 19,2021 with limited capacity.It is interesting to note that on December 4,2020,when French Government signed the decree that closed the lift,7-day average new covid-19 cases were 9710,while it was 12834 when operation was again authorised on May 19,2021
219、.La Clusaz opened 3 lifts with capacity limited to 1000 skiers on May 23 and 24.Les 2 Alpes,Val dIsre and Tignes also reopened end of May/beginning of June.Avoriaz also opened some slopes on the week-end in June,taking profit of the remainder of the abun-dant snowfall from the winter.2022 Internatio
220、nal Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -37-After 4 seasons in a row with a decrease in visits to French ski resorts,winter 2017/18 showed better figures.Attendance improved to reach 53.8 million skier visits.In 2018/19,attendance declined
221、again 0.8%on former year due to unfavourable holidays periods.Resorts of all sizes suffered during season 2019/2020,but those most im-pacted were the smallest and the biggest.The largest resorts are the ones that paid the heaviest tribute to the early end of the season.Indeed,there was still one mon
222、th and a half to run after 15 March brutal closure for high altitude resorts.These weeks use to make a substantial contribution to the season for these resorts.Smaller ski areas have often suffered from a lack of snow throughout the season.Covid-19 closure itself brought therefore less impact at low
223、 altitude resorts,which had anyway already experienced a bad season.For the others,before it came to a sudden end,the season had gone well so far,with real resilience of ski areas,some facing adverse weather conditions.On average,the ski resorts visitation ended 15.9%down over former season.Season 2
224、020/21 was unfortunately non-existent,further to governmental decision to lockdown lifts.0000003000000040000000500000006000000070000000Yearly value5-year averageFigure 14:France,evolution of skier visits 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figur
225、es for ski resorts April 2022 -38-Laurent Vanat Franceliftsskier visits per national skierskier visits per inhabitantmajor resorts(1 mio SV)skier visits per liftskier visits per foreign visitor3113317ski areas0national skiers13Participation rate nationalsSki areas with 5 lifts or more0.40
226、.13.540656000average skier visitsProportion foreign skiers74%13%27%2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -39-Italy A share of 35%of Italian territory is made of mountains and a fur-ther 42%is covered by hills.2 major mounta
227、in chains cross a large part of the country and are linked together.The highest one,the Alps in the North,ranging from East to West,culminates at 4808 meters above sea level with the Mont Blanc,on the border with France.The second range,the Apennine,crosses the country from Liguria to Calabria.It is
228、 not so high as the Alps but longer,as it extends over 1500 kilometres.Its highest point,Corno Grande,in the Gran Sasso,reaches 2914 meters above sea level.The Etna volcano,which by the way hosts a ski area,culminates over island of Sicily at 3340 meters above sea level.Italy shares also with Switze
229、rland the Matterhorn,one of the most iconic summits of the Alps.Although most of the ski resorts are concentrated in the northern regions of Piemonte,Valle dAosta,Lombardy,Trentino,Alto Adige(South Tyrol)and Veneto,there are minor ski resorts throughout most of the country,including on the islands o
230、f Sicily and Sardinia.Despite some older traces of skiing in Italy,it seems that modern skiing was introduced in 1897 in the region of Torino.In 1901,Ponte Nossa and Torino ski clubs were the first ones in Italy.They concentrated at the beginning mostly on the promotion of backcountry skiing.The fis
231、t ski race was organ-ised in Italy in 1904 in Bardonecchia.Italian Ski Federation was founded in 1913.First World War gave an impulse in Italy to train 88 Alpine battalions.The erection of Sestriere was started in 1930,as the first purpose-built Alpine resort.Cervinia completed its first Breuil-Plan
232、 Maison cable car in 1936.The lift was built within 2 years of the founding of Cervino in 1934,and played a crucial part in the resort becoming one of the most important ski resorts in Italy.Corvara,in Val Badia,was the first place to introduce dedicated ski lifts in Italy.It started in 1938 with a
233、sledge-lift,cable-dragged across the snow.Then the first chairlift was built in 1946.It was a single seater with wooden towers.Its huge success led to expanding the area with other lifts over the next year,creating the famous Skicarosello Alta Badia.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism
234、-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -40-Laurent Vanat In 1956,the Winter Olympics were held for the first time in Italy,in Cortina dAmpezzo.50 years later,the 2006 Winter Games returned to Italy,in Torino.Currently,Alta Badia,Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta,Gardena/Alpe di
235、Siussi,Livigno,Plan de Corones,Sestriere Via Lattea,Val di Fassa/Carezza are the ski resorts in Italy with the highest visitation numbers.They are located in the provinces of South Tyrol,Trentino,Piemonte and Lombardy.The Italian ski industry is similar to the Austrian model in the South Tyrol and e
236、astern regions,and shares some similarities with the French resorts in the West.Some players are very dynamic,like the Dolomiti Superski area,(featuring 450 lifts and 1200 kilometres of trails,representing about 35%of all Italian skier visits),and offer a high level of infrastructure and state-of-th
237、e-art lifts and snowmaking facilities under a common brand name.This packaging is,however,formed by a multitude of small operators21.The evo-lution of some other areas has been slower,contributing to stagnation in skier visits.The Italian ski industry is quite fragmented,with no major operator.It re
238、lies primarily on domestic customers and for about one third from European out-bound markets.Large international resorts are popular for guests from Ger-many,United Kingdom,Netherlands and Poland.From 2002 up to 2009,20%of the lifts were removed and a further 20%have been renewed,for a total of 445
239、new lifts.Although Italian operators 21 Dolomiti Superski is a federation of 130 lift companies 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -41-have been investing quite heavily in the beginning of 2000s,attendance started to dec
240、line.Even if the market recovered a bit till 2010/11 season,Italy showed then a trend towards declining skier visits and yearly figures sta-bilising at a low level for 6 winters in a row.Season 2017/18 was much better,with a 6.8%improvement in visitation(on national average;some resorts,like Dolomit
241、i Superski,even enjoyed a 12%increase).Positive trend continued in 2018/19 with a new increase in attendance of 1.0%.Due to the emergency linked to the spread of covid-19,the Italian authorities imposed the immediate closure of all ski lifts nationwide on 9 March 2020,thus anticipating the end of th
242、e winter season.Ski areas were stopped right in the heart of a season that would have been record in the North.At the end of February 2020,the level of revenues showed a growth of 15%to 25%in some areas in Aosta Valley for instance.In the Central South,the early closure did not allow the ski areas t
243、o recover after a start which,unlike in the Alps,had been very problematic in the Apennines due to lack of natural snow,rain and warm winds.With the abrupt closure,the global attendance figures for 2019/20 season ended up 12.6%down over former winter.Lifts remained closed dur-ing winter 2020/21 furt
244、her to governmental lockdown.Italy is the only major market that does not supply proper national yearly attendance statistics.Skier visits figures rely on estimates22.22 The present report does not rely on the officially communicated estimates.050000000000020000000250000003000000035000000
245、Yearly value5-year averageFigure 15:Italy,evolution of skier visits 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -42-Laurent Vanat Covid-19 impacts Breuil-Cervinia opened on October 24,2020 but the next day Italian Prime Minister
246、decided to close all ski resorts for one month.Only professional athletes were authorised from that date.Then government decided resorts would not open till January 7,2021.This date was tentatively rescheduled to January 18 and then February 15.Ski areas in yellow zones were supposed to be authorise
247、d to open with pandemic operating procedures,but government approval was once more last minute delayed to 5 March despite some resorts had prepared for opening.The continuous uncertainty then motivated some resorts to decide they would not open for the season.In early March,Dolomiti Superski decided
248、 they would remain closed for the season.Anyway,it was only in mid May 2021 that lifts could operate again,with Presena Glacier opening again,soon followed by Cervinia and Passo Stelvio.From June 12,2021,it was again possible to ski from Cervinia to Zermatt,Switzerland.Italyliftsskier visits per nat
249、ional skierskier visits per inhabitantmajor resorts(1 mio SV)skier visits per liftskier visits per foreign visitor0.20.22.022320000average skier visitsProportion foreign skiers2127349ski areas0national skiers7Participation rate nationalsSki areas with 5 lifts or more62%12%35%2022 Internat
250、ional Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -43-Liechtenstein Liechtenstein is a small Alpine principality in Central Europe bordered by Switzerland to the West and South and by Austria to the East and North.The majority of its 162 square kil
251、ometres is mountainous,with the highest summit top-ping out at 2599 meters above sea level(Grauspitz),making it a destination for winter sports,although the small country only accounts one single ski resort,Malbun.Malbun is pretty close to the capital,Vaduz,but the road up to the resort can be an in
252、timidating one for inexperienced moun-tain drivers,with steep gradients and sharp corners.Skiing in Malbun appeals to the nostalgia of the days before the sport became industrialised,with package tours and lift queues.It is not a place to ski record vertical,or to spend a lot of money on aprs-ski.Ho
253、wever,Malbun is the perfect resort for a romantic getaway to remind oneself what a ski vaca-tion was once all about.Like the country,the resort is tiny,with only a hand-ful of hotels amongst the private chalets and houses.It is only equipped with 5 lifts that rise to a maximum altitude of 2000 meter
254、s.The snow conditions normally remain pretty good.Liechtensteinliftsskier visits per national skierskier visits per inhabitantmajor resorts(1 mio SV)skier visits per liftskier visits per foreign visitor1.20.83.390000average skier visitsProportion foreign skiers51ski areas1800014000national skiers0Pa
255、rticipation rate nationalsSki areas with 5 lifts or more100%36%50%2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -44-Laurent Vanat Slovenia Slovenia has 28 peaks over 2800 meters high.The highest one,Triglav,culminates at 2864 meter
256、s above sea level.The Alps,including the Julian Alps,the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Karavanke mountain range,tower above Northern Slo-venia along its long border with Austria and Italy.In the 17th cen-tury,skis were already used there as a means of transportation.To-day,hiking and trekking are amon
257、g the most preferred sports in Slove-nia.Thanks to attractive winter re-sorts such as Kranjska Gora,Ro-gla and Krvavec,skiing has devel-oped into a major sport in the past few decades,even though other European winter sport destinations are strong competitors due to higher altitudes and the guarante
258、ed snow.Tourism is the highest growing economic sector in Slovenia and is increasingly competitive.The evolution in skier visits reveals a strong dependency on snow conditions.After a substantial growth in the beginning of the 2000s,several seasons 02000004000006000008000000000
259、00Yearly value5-year averageFigure 16:Slovenia,evolution of skier visits 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -45-have shown a declining trend in attendance.It has however been reversed starting from winter season 2016/17,
260、with a return to higher visitation fig-ures.2018/19 was unusually warm and ski areas,overall,posted declining skier visits numbers.With the pandemic early closure,skier visits declined again in 2019/20,with a 28.8%shortfall over former season.2020/21 was even worse,as various lockdowns prevented res
261、orts to operate for long pe-riods.Covid-19 impacts Some resorts opened in December 2020 but closed again during holiday season due to deteriorating pandemic situation.Most resorts were able to reopen in early February 2021.Resorts were again closed by lockdown on April 1,2021.Some did not reopen bec
262、ause they were anyway approaching the end of the season,while some did and even extended the length of the season till early May.Slovenia has 44 resorts with a total of over 200 ski lifts.It offers a very good price/performance ratio,modern ski runs,cross-country skiing,good infra-structure,snowmaki
263、ng,and well-equipped holiday apartments and hotels.Mariborsko Pohorje is one of the most well-known resorts.It hosts an alpine World Cup ladies downhill event every year.43 kilometres of ski runs,modern spas,beautiful landscapes and being near the city of Maribor make this a very attractive destinat
264、ion.The resort guarantees 100 snow days per season.Another popular ski resort is Kranjska Gora.It hosts an alpine ski-ing World Cup event every year and has trails for every level,from beginners to expert skiers and snowboarders.The highest winter resort in Slovenia is 2022 International Report on S
265、now&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -46-Laurent Vanat Kanin,which is connected with the Italian resort of Sella Nevea.It offers 30 kilometres of ski runs,13 lifts and snow through early spring.Cerkno is the most modern family ski resort in Slovenia,lo
266、cated on the slopes of the 1291-metre high rnivrh peak.This ideally situated ski area is 100%covered by an extensive snowmaking system,which guarantees a minimum of 70 ski days per winter.Slovenialiftsskier visits per national skierskier visits per inhabitantskier visits per liftskier visits per for
267、eign visitor0.40.13.01090000average skier visitsProportion foreign skiers21744ski areas5024299000national skiersParticipation rate nationalsSki areas with 5 lifts or more55%14%17%2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -47-Sw
268、itzerland With 49 summits that reach over 4000 me-ters23,Swiss Alps account the largest number of such top peaks in the whole Alpine range.The highest Swiss peak,Mount Dufour,reaches 4634 meters above sea level and is the highest in the Alps after the Mont Blanc.The Alpine range crosses all Switzerl
269、and from East to West and covers 62.5%of the national territory.Another 10%of land is covered by the lower mountain range of the Jura,which is also shared with France and Germany.Jura only reaches 1679 meters above sea level at its highest point in Switzerland.Mountain tourism developed already duri
270、ng the 19th century in Switzerland,in places like St.Moritz,Davos and many others.At the beginning,it was concentrated at summer time.Winter tourism in Switzerland is considered to be born in 1864 in St.Moritz.First winter sports were sledging,curling and ice-skating.Ski competitions appeared over t
271、he next century.Worlds first downhill race was held over the Plaine Morte Glacier in Crans-Montana in 1911.In 1921,the first modern slalom race was held in Mrren.The second Winter Olympics were held in St.Moritz in 1928(without downhill skiing competition at that time).The first T-bar lift was insta
272、lled in Switzerland in 1934 in Davos24.Therefore,Switzerland was,for quite some time during the last century,the most well-known ski destination in the world,with some places still garnering lasting recognition.The country was also once the leader in terms of lift infrastructure.However,the industry
273、 lost part of its lustre in the 1980s;too 23 Some are located on the boarder and shared with Italy.24 In fact it was first a J-bar lift installed,that was later on converted into a T-bar.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 202
274、2 -48-Laurent Vanat many fragmented operators fighting over the same mountains led several companies into a poor financial situation.Investment has slowed down for quite some time and Switzerland has lost part of its appeal to foreign tourists.This has not been helped by its legendary,but not always
275、 true,reputation as being an expensive destination.However,for numerous years now,the exchange rate between the Swiss Franc,the Euro and the British Pound has been unfavourable and has led to a renewed reputation for being expensive.The situation became even worse when,on 15 January 2015,the Swiss N
276、a-tional Bank discontinued the minimum exchange rate of the Franc with the Euro.Swiss ski areas used to host an important foreign customer base,made up of Germans,British,French,Italians and Dutch25.Over the last few years,the number of Spanish,Russian and Asian customers has increased,but this has
277、not made up for the decline of Switzerlands traditional foreign customer base.Between 2010 and 2020,winter resorts lost 1.5 million overnight stays related to the decline of the latter.Nowadays,the average proportion of foreign guests on the slopes has dropped below the 40%mark.On top of this,the Sw
278、iss ski industry is facing the same demographics issue with its domestic and foreign customer base.Baby boomers are retiring and the new generations are less engaged in the sport.The skier visits figures present thus a long-range declining trend.Covid-19 impacts Glacier 3000,Saas-Fee,Zermatt and Dav
279、os opened in October 2020.Arosa,Laax and Verbier opened during the first half of November.Andermatt also opened,with limited number of tickets sold to limit the number of skiers.Federal govern-ment officially allowed resort opening on December 4,2020,with capacity re-striction in gondolas and aerial
280、 trams(2/3 of capacity)and usual social distancing measures.Some cantons closed their ski resorts on December 19,2020(Schwytz,Lucerne,Zoug)and December 22(Uri,St.Gallen,Zurich).Obwald/Niedwald reo-pened on December 29,2020.The others followed soon after.Restaurants closed most of the season,while ho
281、tels remained open.Many resorts closed just after Easter,even if in normal season they use to remain open longer.However,Crans-Montana choosed to extend the season up to June on its Plaine-Morte glacier.Starting June 12,2021,in Zermatt it was again possible to ski from Zermatt to Cervinia,Italy.From
282、 beginning of 2000s,Switzerland first experienced a period of stagna-tion,followed by a decline after winter 2008/09.This happened in spite of continued efforts by Swiss ski resorts to extend snowmaking facilities and renew lift infrastructure.Unfavourable snow conditions repeated for 3 years in a r
283、ow starting winter 2014/15,with mild and dry weather in December.Snow was thus lacking in many resorts for Christmas/New Year holidays and genuine winter conditions only arrived later.25 Top 5 in hotels overnight stays during the winter season in mountain regions.2022 International Report on Snow&Mo
284、untain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -49-Winter 2017/18 experienced however better conditions.Attendance figures rose 10.3%over previous season.Despite weather conditions have not been always very favourable throughout the first half of the season,2018/19 al
285、so experienced a further growth of 6.2%in skier visits,which reached 10.3%over the 5-year average.This improvement did not yet fully recover for the 25%skier visits lost over a 10-year period up to 2016/17.Winter 2019/20 saw 2 exceptional conditions.First of all,the record mildness of the season,whi
286、ch on the one hand deprived an exceptional number of small low-altitude resorts of snow,but on the other hand allowed the larger resorts which had snow to offer excellent skiing conditions and reaching at-tendance records.Overall,it had therefore started very well,with an increase at the end of Janu
287、ary of 9%compared to the previous season.At the end of February,the 2019/20 season was still 1%ahead of the previous one.Eve-rything pointed to an excellent season,continuing the progress of the former 2 years,regardless of the mild winter.However,covid-19 decided otherwise.The 2019/20 winter season
288、 was prematurely interrupted on the evening of 13 March 2020 following government order.Skier visits ended 19.0%down compared to the previous season.As surprisingly as it may seem,27 resorts however posted an increase in their attendance compared to the previous winter.Apart issues related to covid-
289、19,an unusually high number of 35 resorts did not open during the season,mainly due to the lack of snow.Despite the pandemic and the pressure of neighbouring governments not to open,resorts operated with restrictions during winter 2020/21,with restau-rants mostly closed and a limited number of forei
290、gn guests.The attendance ended up at the same level than previous year.0500000000000200000002500000030000000Yearly value5-year averageFigure 17:Switzerland,evolution of skier visits 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts Apr
291、il 2022 -50-Laurent Vanat Over the last couple of years,several ski areas entered into disruptive pricing strategies in order to try to recover part of the clients and attract newcomers.The first one to propose heavily discounted season passes was Saas-Fee,with a CHF 222 of-fering in 2016/17.Althoug
292、h the resort was very successful with it on the first season,the 2017/18 was not so bright.25 Swiss ski areas got also together in 2017/18 to offer a multi-resort season pass called Magic Pass,with very interesting discounted price in pre-sale.They were able to globally increase their skier visits f
293、igures by 30%over the former season,which was 20%more than the Swiss average.The further seasons confirmed the success of the Magic Pass.Other ski areas also introduced offers of this kind and more and more resorts are adopting dy-namic pricing.The future is still unclear and is a concern for ski ar
294、ea operators.For the time being,Swiss operators have not taken any consid-erable measures to anticipate the impact of the demographic changes in their client base.Some campaigns were launched over the last few winters to get citizens of major cities ac-quainted with the pleasures of skiing.Various i
295、deas are being studied but customer knowledge still needs to be improved to develop suc-cessful CRM programs.Further improvements to the client experience will also pass through the modernization of part of the aging hotel infrastructure,which offers very unequal quality depending on the destination
296、.The increase in the non-skiing offer will also help the Swiss Alpine resorts to be more appealing to a larger customer base both in winter and in summer.Currently,the largest ski areas in Switzerland by visitation numbers are Ad-elboden-Lenk,Arosa Lenzerheide,Davos-Klosters,St.Moritz,Verbier,and Ze
297、rmatt,all located in the regions of Grisons,Valais and Bernese Oberland,where the largest ski resorts are concentrated.Switzerlandliftsskier visits per national skierskier visits per inhabitantmajor resorts(1 mio SV)skier visits per liftskier visits per foreign visitor1.70.84.821967000average skier
298、visitsProportion foreign skiers1364181ski areas0national skiers6Participation rate nationalsSki areas with 5 lifts or more45%35%35%2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -51-2022 International Report on Snow&Mount
299、ain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -52-Laurent Vanat Western Europe Western Europe(except the Alpine countries mentioned separately above)is for the present time the largest outbound skiers market.It is home to more than 30 million skiers.It is also home to n
300、early 1100 ski areas,an amount quite comparable to the Alps.However,even if several Western European countries have their own ski resorts,many skiers enjoy travelling to the Alps.Thus,attendance in Western European resorts represents only about 25%of the total Alpine skier visits.2022 International
301、Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -53-Andorra With 62 peaks over 2000 meters high within the countrys 468 square kilometres surface area,the Principality is located in the highest part of the Pyrenees and has the largest ski area in the P
302、yrenees.The resorts are located at altitudes between 1550 and 2640 meters above sea level.Due to the southern location,the climate is milder and sunnier than in the other European ski regions.Even if suscepti-ble to unreliable snowfall,snow conditions are generally good,enhanced by a solid snow-maki
303、ng system.As the Andorran population is very small,the national customer base is in-significant.Most skiers are foreign visitors.Although there is no direct access by rail or air to Andorra,the ski areas are close to big cities from neighbouring Spain and France.They also attract other international
304、 visitors,such as Brit-ish and Russian skiers.The resorts offer many hotels for all tastes and budg-ets.They are also valued for their nightlife and shopping.Due to the huge portion of international customers in the number of skier visits,Andorra is the only destination in Europe that experienced a
305、decrease in skier visits immediately after the 2008 crisis.They however quickly stabi-lised and showed again some trend upwards over the recent years.For the first time after 11 seasons,skier visits have returned over the 2.5 million mark during winter 2017/18,which was the level at the beginning of
306、 the 2000s.The country has nevertheless to fight against increasing international competition and lacks a domestic market.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -54-Laurent Vanat The 2019/20 season started with early opening
307、s in mid-November,due to few but abundant precipitation and good conditions for snowmaking.The Christmas New Year period saw and increase in visitation of 20%over previous average,thanks to good snow and weather conditions.February also offered magnificent ski conditions,but unfortunately,the resort
308、s were forced to close as of March 14 due to the covid-19 pandemic.This health emergency shortened the growing trend that the season was showing.It ended with a drop of 8.5%in skier visits.The 2020/21 winter saw a drop in business of about 90%and only partial lift opening.Covid-19 impacts Government
309、 decided not to open ski resorts for Christmas/New Year.Resorts opens for locals only at the beginning of January 2021.Andorran ski resorts are state of the art and offer wide ski areas.Important investments have been made over recent years to put them in a position highly competitive with the Alps.
310、However,despite modern infrastructure,good snowmaking,and large resorts,part of the skier market still does not consider Pyrenees resorts as attractive as those in the Alps,claiming their layout differs slightly.As for the whole region,there remains an image deficit to address.Villages are extensive
311、ly connected over wide areas,but vertical drop is considered lower than in the major Alpine resorts.0500000000200000025000003000000Yearly value5-year averageFigure 18:Andorra,evolution of skier visits 2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures
312、for ski resorts April 2022 -55-Le Pas de la Casa-Grau Roig and Soldeu-El Tarter form the Grandvalira ski area.Grandvalira is the largest interconnected ski area in the Pyrenees.With its 71 lifts,128 runs offering 210 kilometres of skiing,it is part of the exclu-sive club of the top 50 largest resort
313、s in the world(over one million skier visits per year).Grandvalira benefits from an international reputation and already hosted several World Cup events.Grandvalira ski passes also include the Ordino-Arcalis area,which is not directly connected to the main resorts area.Ordino-Arcalis features 16 lif
314、ts,34 runs,for a total of 30 kilometres of skiing and is well known for freeride.It hosts every year the Freeride World Tour.The other resort is Vallnord-Pal Arinsal.Pal and Arinsal are linked via a 50-person cable car and offer together 31 lifts,49 runs totalling 63 kilome-tres.Andorraliftsskier vi
315、sits per national skierskier visits per inhabitantmajor resorts(1 mio SV)skier visits per liftskier visits per foreign visitor2.10.710.31985000average skier visitsProportion foreign skiers1403ski areas1418215000national skiers1Participation rate nationalsSki areas with 5 lifts or more100%20%92%2022
316、International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -56-Laurent Vanat Belgium Despite Belgium being qualified as the Flatlands,with an average altitude less than 300 meters above sea level,the southern part of the country has some hilly terra
317、in.The Ardennes range tops out at 694 meters(Signal de Botrange).Since Belgians like to ski,and even though they spend most of their winter sports vacation abroad,7 small ski areas have become popular in the Ardennes,in addition to a few indoor and dry slope fa-cilities.Snow coverage is an issue,as
318、good conditions are never guaranteed during the winter.January and February are the most likely to offer snow.On average,Belgian ski areas operate between 30 and 80 days in a season.The ski areas are small and local,offering only surface lifts.It is possible to rent skis in most places.They are suit
319、able for families with young children as they offer mostly beginner slopes(and often a sledge run).Incidentally,several ski areas ban snowboarding for safety reasons.These areas offer a good opportunity for novice skiers to get a taste for skiing before heading to the larger ski resorts in the Alpin
320、e countries.Belgian slopes also attract neigh-bouring French and Dutch skiers.The best-known ski areas are Baraque de Fraiture and Mont des Brumes.Baraque de Fraiture has the highest slopes in Belgium(reaching up to 652 meters above sea level)and also features night skiing.Mont des Brumes has been t
321、he cradle of skiing in Belgium.The place was discovered by skiers in 1946 and a ski club was founded 2 years later.The area was soon equipped with ski lifts and it was one of the early places in Europe where snowmaking facilities were installed.The longest trail in Belgium(1200 meters long)is locate
322、d in Val de Wanne ski area.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -57-Belgiumliftsskier visits per national skierskier visits per inhabitantmajor resorts(1 mio SV)skier visits per liftskier visits per foreign visitor0.00.00.
323、0100000average skier visitsProportion foreign skiers117ski areas90911253000national skiers0Participation rate nationalsSki areas with 5 lifts or more0%11%40%2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -58-Laurent Vanat Denmark De
324、nmark is one of the flattest countries in the world,with an average altitude of about 30 meters above sea level.There are absolutely no mountains and the highest hill culminates at 173 meters.However,the country also includes Greenland,which features heights up to 3733 meters above sea level(Fjeld G
325、unnbjorn).Greenland is a peculiar ter-ritory,with more than 75%of its surface covered with an ice cap and only con-taining 56000 inhabitants.On top of a lack of any terrain relief,Den-mark also often lacks snow.The Danish winter is unpredictable and snowfall spo-radic.It is usually mild,with an aver
326、age temperature of 0 degrees Celsius in Jan-uary and February.However,sometimes the winters are much colder and include snowy days,while other winters there is no snow at all,or the snow melts as soon as it falls.Sometimes several years pass between two snowy winters.In addition to a couple of indoo
327、r ski facil-ities,there are a few outdoor ski areas with limited vertical drop and infrastruc-ture.Skiing is a popular sport in Denmark and many Danes go skiing every year,travelling abroad,either to Scandinavia or to the Alps.While the 3 ski areas in Denmark(Hedeland,Kolding and Bornholm)are mostly
328、 equipped with rope tows or beginners lifts(only Bornhom features a draglift),the 2 ski areas in Greenland(Nuuk and Angmassalik)have one or more ski lifts.Hedeland is equipped with some snowmaking facilities.The wild mountainous areas of Greenland,covered with fresh polar powder snow,offer some excl
329、usive spots for heliskiing.It is possible to ski 2000 meters of vertical down to the waters edge.2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -59-Denmarkliftsskier visits per national skierskier visits per inhabitantmajor resorts(
330、1 mio SV)skier visits per liftskier visits per foreign visitor0.00.00.150000average skier visitsProportion foreign skiers65ski areas8333667000national skiers0Participation rate nationalsSki areas with 5 lifts or more0%12%0%2022 International Report on Snow&Mountain Tourism-Overview of the key indust
331、ry figures for ski resorts April 2022 -60-Laurent Vanat Finland Despite the coastal plains and the flat terrain of Southeast Finland,the countrys high point is Mount Halti,1328 meters above sea level,lo-cated in the mountainous region along the Finn-ish-Norwegian border.Even with few mountains,Finla
332、nd has about 80 ski areas in the North and Lapland(22),the South(26)and in the middle of the country(28).The longest ski trail is in Lapland(over 3000 me-ters long)but the average length of a ski run in Finland is between 600 and 800 meters.Finnish lift passes are among the cheapest in Western Europ
333、e.Skiing has been in Scandinavia for several thou-sand years and it is said that the Vikings already used skis as a means of transportation.If the ex-istence of skiing is very old,its practice as a sport is more recent.It was developed after 1850,when the first races were held(mainly in Nor-way),and the Finnish Ski Federation was founded in 1908.Ski season in Finland can least substantially longer