Laurent Vanat releases his annual report on ski resort visits worldwide

Every year, Laurent Vanat shares his ski resort expertise. While manufacturers typical focus on retail data for winter sports equipment sales, Laurent has been working hard for at least the last 7 years to provide us with accurate figures on skier visits worldwide. His international report on mountain resorts has without a doubt become the bible for the industry.

The 7th edition of the "International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism" was published in April, based on data collected during the 2013-2014 ski season. The report covers 60 countries, which represent 99.8% of the total market volume.

Here are a few key worldwide figures from the report:
>> 2000 ski resorts
>> 6 million beds
>> 400 million skier visits in total per year

Despite the magnitude of these figures, it is important to understand that most major markets have been stagnating for years. Several markets even show a decline, such as the US, Italy, Switzerland or France. The aging population in addition to the limited number of new skiers from emerging markets has accelerated this phenomenon. The skiing populations in Europe and North America need to start teaching their children how to ski!

Below are a few examples of the graphs and charts you will find in the report.

 

Source: VANAT Laurent, International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism - Overview of the key industry figures for ski resorts, April 2015. Available online at: www.vanat.ch/RM-world-report-2015.pdf through OSV.