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Executive summary and highlights
A positive outlook There is much to be positive about in this report. Several of our key indicators are showing that the potential demand for skiing holidays is growing stronger despite the headwinds of economic and political uncertainty.
The market is getting younger It may be that we are starting to experience another boost from demographics. For some time we have said that the main market is in the older, more affluent consumer - and this is one of the largest groups in the economy. The largest cohort in the economy today is those aged 50-54. There is something of a smaller cohort of those aged 35 to 49 but the population pyramid expands again in the 25 to 34 age group. If you want to see this UK population for yourself you can click here: https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-kingdom/2018/ . This younger age group are becoming more affluent as they progress in their jobs and crucially they are characterised as being more driven by experiences than by things - if that is the case skiing is a great experience for them to enjoy. However, as always, there are many other experiences that may be easier to access and less expensive. Making skiing relevant to that younger audience is key.
Welcoming back ‘lapsed’ skiers The latent demand amongst families returning to skiing and for more ski breaks from those currently active is another area that we see year on year. It may be difficult for us to do anything as an industry to address those opportunities, but individual ski companies might like to focus some more of their marketing effort on the ‘lapsed’ parts of their customer base – there may be rich pickings there.
Nurturing new customers Another area where ski businesses might focus is in nurturing the first-time skier - not finding them in the first place (this might prove difficult) but identifying those who are new to the sport and making sure they have a good experience. Then making sure they come back for a second and third time. Once someone has done something 2 or 3 times they are significantly more likely to do it again. Targeting first timers on their return with appropriate communications and incentives focussed on getting the second sale will pay big dividends.
Harnessing advocates Year after year the NPS of ski gives us all great hope for the future. Later in the document you will see that the vast majority of skiers are advocates – they would be more than happy to recommend the company they skied with and indeed the sport itself to their friends and colleagues. Harnessing this advocacy Page | 9 © 2018 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk