Here's What the Ski Club's Consumer Research Says About Your Skiing ...
- Henry
- Jun 19
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 5
Number one answer still on the board ... survey says ... !
The Ski Club of Great Britain has just released the results of its consumer research survey for the 2024/25 season, breaking down many of the biggest trends within the UK ski industry.
Part of a biennial series, the spring survey looks at the season that just was, and asks skiers and snowboarders in the UK about how they spent the past winter. Questions cover the basics about your ski holiday, such as when you went, how often, who with, and where you stayed.
Every season, there are some interesting and important trends that unveil themselves about skiing in the UK. Skiing Unlocked breaks down four of the more interesting shifts in consumer behaviour that the 2024/25 survey reveals, comparing against the previous two years’ worth of data (2022/23 and 2023/24)
Here’s what the Ski Club Consumer Research Survey says about your skiing …
Go East …
Britons are in love with Japan.
2024/25 has seen a massive spike in Japan as the dream destination for UK skiers, jumping to the number one dream destination for a whopping third of the skiing population.
This is a massive jump from last year, when it was also the top choice for around a quarter of British skiers, but over a three year period this has risen from 20%. Alongside this, Japan has squeezed Canada firmly into second place, with just 22% of British skiers listing it as their number one dream destination.
A combination of factors have influenced this, including a very cheap local currency and a latent demand from COVID, with Japan one of the last countries to re-open following the pandemic.
More than that, however, Japan is really popular amongst 18-35s, driven by a rising social media awareness of the skiing opportunities in the country. Whilst only a small fraction of people actually make it to the endless powder of Hokkaido each winter, there is a huge latent demand for skiing Japan.
Return of the Catered Chalet
The catered chalet sector of the market was dealt a triple blow during COVID, as pandemic limitations stacked on top of rising costs and extra red tape following Britain’s departure from the European Union to effectively leave it dead in the water.
The sector is making a comeback, however, with 16% of respondents staying in catered chalets during the 2024/25 season. Whilst still modest, it marks a noticeable increase in bookings on the 13% from 2023/24 and 9% in 2022/23. This is against a backdrop of an ever-so-slightly shrinking overall market size (but still within normal statistical variances).
What has driven this growth? Reductions in cost now make these operations viable again, with cost the number one determinator behind someone’s skiing choices. More than that, perhaps, hiring staff out of the UK has become exponentially easier thanks to the work of Seasonal Business in Travel (SBiT), who have successfully lobbied the French government for a huge range of concessions to make it easier and easier to employ UK staff in France.
This is only going to increase, one imagines, with the recently announced Youth Experience Scheme, although we know the impacts of this may not be felt until 2026/27.
No One Cares About Sustainability
In a similar piece last year, I commented that a shockingly low number of people travel by train to the Alps each winter – around 2% of respondents, a figure that has held steady this year.
More than that, however, is that a ski resort’s sustainability record ranks almost bottom for factors people consider when choosing a resort. We know the environment is important for many skiers – and Britons, too – but this isn’t being reflected in their skiing habits.
There is some hope, however, with 18-35s responding more positively to the same question.
Snow and resort elevation remains top of the list for factors affecting ski resort choice, and, interestingly, this is the overall resort elevation rather than the accessible ski area – a boon to places like Avoriaz with high elevation villages, but a detriment to Morzine, somewhere that is situated lower but shares an identical ski area!
Huge Changes in Broader Booking Patterns
The return of chalet accommodation is but one aspect of a much larger shift in booking patterns that is taking place within the industry.
As a rule of thumb, people are booking earlier, taking more trips, and spending more money than they were two years ago. Even more so, the family ski trip is declining, with more people travelling solo than previously.
A third of the British skiing population now book two trips per year, up from a quarter in 2022/23 – heading in the opposite direction is just one trip per year, down eight percentage points on two season ago. In addition, 2/5 of ski trips are now booked more than six months in advance, up from a third two years ago.
This latter point perhaps influences or can cast light on other trends; short breaks are down compared to last year and the year before, with people preferring certainty instead of waiting for the snow to fall and booking at the last minute, particularly with the uncertain snowfall patterns we have seen in recent years.
On a louder note, however, is the shift in holiday cost. Those spending between £750 and £1250 per person per trip (on pre-booked things like hotel, travel and lift passes, rather than for example food and drink) has declined by around two percentage points year-on-year over the last three years. At the same time, those spending between £2000 and £3000 has increased by a similar proportion year on year. The bit in the middle - £1250 to £2000 - has stayed remarkably similar, perhaps suggesting that people are moving from the lower end to the middle, and from the middle to the upper end of the market.
Either way, skiing is becoming more expensive, but Brits seem remarkably resilient to these changes.
Final Thoughts
There isn’t a huge amount that is particular earth shattering in this report, it must be said. Cost remains the most important influence on the number of ski trips booked and where people are going, as well as playing an underlying role in a huge range of other factors.
The year-on-year growth of Japan as the dream destination is perhaps the most surprising takeaway from this, especially as this seems to be driven by younger skiers. I’ve seen the growth of #jappow on my Instagram, too, so I know exactly what the drivers are.
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