New York, NY – According to a survey released last week by PhoCusWright, a New York-based travel industry research firm, and sponsored by Mountain Travel Symposium (MTS), the current data available on the travel behavior of skiers and snowboarders revealed new information about these specific destination travelers.

It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this magazine that skiers and snowboarders had a higher level of digital engagement than general travelers in using their smart phones, tablets, and computers. Seventy percent use websites for vacation research and 50 percent purchase their lift tickets online.

Some of the results, however, are somewhat unexpected. For example, survey participants who described themselves as both skiers and snowboarders (20 percent of ski travelers) spent more money on winter resort destinations than either self described skier- or snowboard-only travelers. Eastern skiers and snowboarders took more winter destination trips (2.6 trips per year) than their western counterparts (2.2 annual trips) and spent 30 percent more money on overall ski travel with 16 percent more on lift tickets, 14 percent more on shopping/dining, and a 15 percent longer length of stay than their western counterparts.

The quality of snow conditions was the foremost consideration in choosing a destination, listed by 85 percent of participants in the survey, with the second most important priority being the short distance between lodging options and the slopes.

According to Bruce Rosard, executive vice president of MTS who sponsored a white paper highlighting the findings from the 2012-13 survey, there are several findings in this research that can help mountain destinations attract and respond to customer expectations.

“The biggest revelation in the survey was that participants who described themselves as both skiers and snowboarders are a pretty big ‘piece of the pie’ and this group spends the most money on their vacation,” said Rosard. “Plus, the research confirmed that skiers and snowboarders show higher levels of technology than the average U.S. traveler when booking travel. Since there appears to be a lag between current resort technology and skiers usage, that information is vital for mountain resorts to know and respond to.”

Many skiers consider the activity an integral part of their lifestyle, and as such, it’s a strong driver of travel behavior in a way that few other leisure activities are. For those who are most passionate about the sport, by the time they return home from one ski trip, their minds are back on the mountain, and they are already planning how and when they can go again.

For the purpose of the study, ski travelers were defined as those who stayed in paid overnight accommodation during their trips, and they exhibit very different characteristics from day skiers. PhoCusWright engaged Leisure Trends Group in February 2013 to conduct an online consumer survey of 1,611 U.S. adult skiers. The panel consisted of adults at least 18 years old who had skied or snowboarded at least twice within the last 12 months, and who had a role in planning a ski or snowboarding trip (either a day trip or overnight trip). The 12-month time frame provided a full-year view that spanned two ski seasons.

Within this group of U.S. adult skiers, PhoCusWright identified a key subset of ski travelers: 785 adult skiers who had stayed in paid overnight accommodation at least once in the past two years specifically for a ski trip. These ski travelers were further segmented geographically to examine regional differences.

Southeast and Midwest were categorized as East ski travelers (393), while those residing on the West Coast or in the Mountain and Central Plains states were categorized as West ski travelers (392). The remainder of the sample consisted of day skiers: skiers who did not stay in paid overnight accommodation for a ski or snowboarding trip within the past two years. A total of 620 day skiers were identified from the broad sample, and this group is diverse in terms of demographics, ski behavior and attitudes towards their ski trips.

Compared to the general U.S. traveler population, a higher proportion of ski travelers are male; they are also younger and more
affluent. Whereas U.S. travelers are evenly split between male and female – with women frequently taking a lead in travel planning and therefore attracting considerable attention from travel marketers – this is not the case with skiers. About two thirds of skiers are male, under 45, and perhaps of most importance to travel marketers, high earners. Nearly half report an annual household income of at least $100,000, compared to a quarter of general U.S. travelers.

Across the entire skier population, 58% indicated that they either “only ski” or “usually ski.” In contrast, just one in four skiers said that they either “only snowboard” or “usually snowboard.” While most skiers indicated that they usually do one activity or the other, a significant percentage (16%) indicated that they do both.

Ski+snowboarders score higher in just about every behavioral dimension related to skiing. They ski more, they take more ski trips with paid lodging, and they are much more likely to hold a season pass for a ski area (three in four hold at least one season pass, and half hold at least two). They also have a taste for the good life. Ski+snowboarders are more likely to characterize themselves as luxury travelers; one in five said they are luxury travelers who usually stay in four- or five-star accommodations, compared to 5-7% in the other skier groups. In addition to splurging more frequently on luxury accommodations, ski+snowboarders spend more on ski travel overall than single-activity skiers. They are more passionate about skiing, they care more about having the best gear and looking good on the slopes, and they spend more on shopping and dining during their ski trips.

Not surprisingly, snowboarding appeals to a much younger demographic, a population that is also less affluent, travels less and spends less when skiing and traveling. Six in 10 snowboarders are under the age of 35, compared to about one in four skiers who fall into the same age group. Conversely, half of skiers are 45 or older, while just 14% of snowboarders are of similar age.

Skiers comprise roughly equal shares of East and West residents. In spite of this more or less even split between regions, ski travelers represent a larger share of the skier population in the East than in the West; 32% of the 49% of skiers who reside in the Eastern U.S. are ski travelers, compared to 30% (of the 51% of skiers) who reside in the West. This may indicate that, in general, skiers in the East may be more likely to have to travel in order to reach a ski destination (particularly some of the most sought-after destinations, which are in the Western U.S.), whereas those in the West are more likely to live close enough to a ski destination to take a day trip.

With ski travel in particular, there are significant variations across key skier segments, such as East and West residents or skiers and snowboarders. West skiers ski more often, averaging almost twice as many day trips as East skiers – which is expected, considering that West residents are more likely to live in close proximity to ski resorts. As more frequent skiers, those in the West are also more likely to self-rate their ability as advanced and expert, and are more likely to own one or more seasonal passes.

East skiers, on the other hand, are slightly more likely than West skiers to take overnight ski trips with paid lodging. They took an average of 2.6 such ski trips over the past year, versus 2.2 for residents in the West. In addition, skiers from the East tend to take longer trips and spend more on their trips compared to Western skiers, suggesting that since they typically have to travel farther, they may make each trip longer.

There are also big differences between skiers and snowboarders in the number of trips they take. Across the board, skiers take more trips than snowboarders. Over the past 12 months, the segment that predominantly skis averaged 16 trips, compared to just nine trips for those who mainly snowboard. This difference held true for all types of trips – day trips, overnight trips with lodging, and overnight trips without lodging.

Easily the most important factor for ski travelers is the quality of snow conditions; more than eight in 10 skiers indicated that snow and ski conditions were either very or extremely important to them in terms of destination selection. Another influential factor is the distance between the slopes and lodging options. Two thirds of ski travelers rate this factor highly, suggesting that many travelers are focused on mitigating the “hassle factor” – they want to reach the ski area quickly with gear in hand to
maximize their time on the slopes. The number of lifts and advanced trails also rank highly in terms of their influence on the choice of destination.

Skiers – both day skiers and ski travelers – are much more digitally engaged than U.S. travelers in general. Ownership of digital devices such as smartphones and tablet computers has skyrocketed in recent years among the general public and travelers alike.
Nearly two thirds of U.S. online travelers who plan their travel online now own a smartphone, and just under a third own a
tablet. However, both groups of skiers are much more likely to own these devices than are general U.S. travelers. Three fourths
of day skiers own a smartphone, and nearly half own a tablet. Ski travelers are even more advanced in their digital adoption;
eight in 10 own a smartphone, while more than half (55%) own a tablet.

Ski travelers rely on a range of information sources when comparing and choosing travel products for their ski trips, but online information sources – including websites and apps – dominate the ski travel shopping process. Websites via computer are by far the leading source of information for ski trip shopping; seven in 10 ski trips are planned using this channel. Recommendations from family and friends are the second most important information source for ski trip shopping. Ski travelers rely on these personal connections for nearly four in 10 ski trips. This is consistent with general U.S. travel, where information from family and friends also exerts significant influence. Beyond friends and family, however, the influence of other offline sources
of information in ski travel planning and shopping drops off considerably.

Seven out of every 10 ski travelers booked at least some travel online for their last ski trip, while nearly half purchased all of
their travel components online. For lift tickets – given the high percentage of on-site, same-day purchases – the online incidence
is relatively low. Still, a third of ski travelers purchased their last lift ticket via computer, while purchases via smartphone and
tablet are in the 6-7% range. While most skiers for day trips typically purchase their lift tickets in person at the resort ticket office, nearly half of all lift ticket purchases for ski travel (ski trips that include overnight paid lodging) happen online.