Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Canadian ski industry warned of hard times ahead


By ALLEN BEST - MTN TOWN NEWS SERVICE

WHISTLER, B.C. -- The ski industry can expect several very hard years, says Intrawest CEO Bill Jensen.

"I think it's going to be a long time before we start to recover," he said at a meeting of Canadian ski area operators.

And as for real estate?

"It's not just stalled, it's disappeared," said Jensen, who predicted that recovery will take at least five to 10 years.

A veteran of 35 years in the ski industry, Jensen was in California before arriving in Colorado during the late 1990s. He managed the Breckenridge ski area, then moved over to Vail, and when he left last year to join rival Intrawest, he was managing ski operations at all four of the Colorado resorts owned by Vail Resorts.

In his talk in Whistler, reports Pique Newsmagazine, Jensen pointed to the sharp falloff in skiers between early season and late season last winter. He suggested that the falloff will continue into the coming ski season.

"What we offer isn't something people are required to have. It's optional."

Revenues were down 10 to 15 percent last season—and the declines could be even greater in the next couple of years, he said.

He urged ski area operators to examine what they do best.

"Understand what is core to your business and what is not core to your business," he said. But he warned against scrimping on safety.

Whistler will benefit from hosting the Olympics next February due to the improved infrastructure and more focused community spirit. But he doubts that hosting the Olympics will cause Whistler's skier days to jump, either this next winter or in coming years.

Also speaking to the Canadian ski area operators was Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association. Six years ago, Berry was optimistic about growth in skier numbers. To a small extent, his optimism has been justified. U.S. skier days surpassed 60 million several years ago.

But this past season, skier days were back to 57 million. And the larger story is that the growth in skier volume has lagged significantly behind the general growth in population. The sport has lost some of its luster from the time when baby boomers were coming of age.

Baby boomers continue to make up 30 percent of the existing customer base, but most can be expected to drop out of the sport during the next decade, Berry said. That makes the task of recruiting new skiers even more important.

The ski industry hasn't done well at recruiting skiers, despite a major industry push in the last decade. Getting people to the slopes is one challenge, but getting them to come back for seconds and thirds—and long enough to be bitten by the bug of downhill sliding—is quite another matter. The beginner conversion rate during the last decade has increased only modestly, from 15 to 16.7 percent.

Ski area operators must create a culture of valuing beginners, Berry said.

Looking out to the year 2020, Berry said the U.S. ski industry could expand to 79 million skiers or deflate to 40 million, but with a modestly optimistic scenario would see 62 to 66 million skiers.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.