A round up of the skiing industry - 2011

A summary of the 2011 International report on mountain tourism

The world ski market of Alpine Skiing is enjoyed in some 80 countries internationally. There maybe many more snow fields around the world but just counting ski resorts with at least 5 ski lifts, there are currently around 2,000 ski resorts.

The numbers skiing have remained stable over the last ten years, estimated at around 400 million skiers visits around the world. The Alps are still the leading international destination, attracting 45% of skier visits. North America is the second most popular attracting 23% and until recently Asia-Pacific attracted similar numbers but has recently seen a decline in skiing in Japan which has not been replaced with the increasing levels of skiing in South Korea or China. It is predicted however, that India and Pakistan may in the longer term, contribute to rising numbers in this region. Finally, the "Non-Alpine" skiing resorts in Northern, Southern and Western Europe (classed as Western Europe) attract about 11% of the market, albeit spread across a lot of smaller resorts.

The report also estimates the total number of skiers in the world by their country of origin which makes interesting predictions for the future growth of the industry. The total number of Alpine skiers in the world is estimated, according to visitor levels in different countries and how often their citizens practise skiing, at an increased figure in 2011 of 110 million Alpine skiers. Eastern European and Asia-Pacific account for 33% of the world's skiers but they only attract 21% of the world skier visits to their resorts, suggesting potential growth in the further. Skiing in China and similar countries are predicted to have increased skiers visits over the next decade with numbers in 2020 reaching the same level as their own numbers of skiers i.e.; 33%.

So assuming that this growth over the next decade in Asia-Pacific does not affect the visits to Western Europe, total international skier visits could potentially rise from 400 million to 410 million between now and 2020.

Onto general observations now. The USA, Japan and France offer the greatest number of actual ski resorts (with at least 5 ski lifts), with 200 areas identified. Germany has a significant number of basic skiing areas, the majority are very small and are not considered to be ski resorts according to the above definition. Only Austria and France are home to more than 10 resorts that attract over one million skiers visits per season. France, Austria and USA have the most ski lifts, each with around 3,000 and they are also the most visited countries attracting more than 50 million skier visits. USA being the most but followed very closely by the other two, who could very soon equal it.

Austria, Norway and Switzerland have the highest levels of their own population skiing, with at least 25% skiing. USA, Germany and France account for the greatest number, with each country having approx. 12 million of their population skiing, largely due to their larger sizes. The majority of skiers in most countries are, in fact, not foreign as foreign visitors only contribute marginally to skiing visitor numbers. The exceptions are Andorra, Austria and Switzerland where international skiers account for between 50-95% of skiers visits.





Reference: Laurent Vanat: 2011 International report on mountain tourism