Ski Club of Great Britain Consumer Research 2017 by Ski Club of Great Britain

Consumer Research 2017

A unique analysis of the snowsports market

The Ski Club of Great Britain is a not-for-profit members’ Club, offering benefits and services to people who love skiing and snowboarding. Founded in 1903, the Ski Club is a body of authority for recreational skiing in the UK. With around 28,000 members, it is the UK’s largest snowsports membership club, with the UK’s most visited snowsports website – skiclub.co.uk The Ski Club Consumer Research takes a different perspective to other market research in the industry. Rather than focussing on industry performance, the report looks at the habits, intentions and attitudes of people in the UK who go on snowsports holidays. The unique analysis is the largest piece of consumer research available in the snowsports field. More information on the Ski Club can be found at skiclub.co.uk

Developed in association with:

SPIKE is a business consultancy that works exclusively in the travel and leisure industry. They help organisations make more profit by using data and technology to create better customer experiences. Where data doesn’t exist – or there isn’t enough of it – they use tailored research to gather that data.

The Ski Club of Great Britain Consumer Research 2017 is sponsored by:

Travel Insurance Facilities Group are a Top 3 UK Travel Insurance Provider – we offer a range of award-winning products and services: from underwriting and claims to online marketing, emergency assistance services and our own medical risk rating tool. We may be a large company but we provide a friendly and personal touch when it comes to service standards. We pride ourselves on delivering exceptional customer service – to both policyholders, and our corporate partners. Our size enables us to offer the full range of insurance services for partners. But we also know a one-size fits all doesn’t suit everyone. At Travel Insurance Facilities Group we offer flexibility. We offer a menu of options so partners can select the specialist services they need to drive their business forward.

Find out more how Travel Insurance Facilities Group can help you by contacting us on hello@tif-group.co.uk or 0203 829 3813 - visit our website at www.tifgroup.co.uk

Front cover image: Ross Woodhall

Table of Contents 1.

Executive summary and highlights ..................................................................................... 2

Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 5

THE CONSUMER ...................................................................................................................... 6 3.

Response Overview ............................................................................................................. 7 3.1 How recently respondents skied.......................................................................................8 3.2 Ski experience of respondents.......................................................................................... 9 3.3 Ski Activities .................................................................................................................... 11 3.4 Age and gender ............................................................................................................... 12 3.5 Are the ex-skiers coming back? ...................................................................................... 14 3.6 The appetite for skiing amongst non-skiers................................................................... 15 3.7 Repeat purchase ............................................................................................................. 19

THE HOLIDAY MARKET ........................................................................................................ 21 4.

Sizing the market: accounting for the independent traveller. ......................................... 22

The NPS of Ski .................................................................................................................. 31 5.1 Understanding Net Promoters Scores ............................................................................ 31 5.2 Finding the greatest advocates ....................................................................................... 34

Who, when, how much? ...................................................................................................38 6.1 Party composition ...........................................................................................................38 6.2 Booking lead time.......................................................................................................... 40 6.3 When did you travel? ..................................................................................................... 43 6.4 Spend per head............................................................................................................... 45 6.5 Long and short breaks ....................................................................................................48 6.6 Type of accommodation .................................................................................................50 7.

Growing the market from within and ski habits ........................................................... 53

8.1 NPS distribution for ski companies................................................................................ 59 This year the NPS scores have improved somewhat for the larger operators, remained steady for the niche players but declined again for the those in the medium category ....... 61 8.2 Ski Companies - Getting it right.................................................................................... 61 8.3 What detractors say ....................................................................................................... 62 9.

The Travel Experience ...................................................................................................... 65 9.1 How skiers travel ............................................................................................................ 65 9.2 Where they fly to ............................................................................................................ 65

10.

Equipment and Clothing ................................................................................................ 66

11.

Countries and resorts ...................................................................................................... 73

11.1 Country NPS scores ....................................................................................................... 74

11.2 Changes in NPS scores .................................................................................................. 75 11.3 Market retention rates .................................................................................................. 76 11.4 Resort retention rates ................................................................................................... 77 11.5 How people choose a resort .......................................................................................... 78 11.6 Resort NPS Scores ......................................................................................................... 79 12.

Appendix: How skiers rate countries .............................................................................84

Figure 1: Methodology ............................................................................................................... 5 Figure 2: Response Overview .................................................................................................... 7 Figure 3: How recently respondents took a skiing holiday .......................................................8 Figure 4: How many weeks have you skied? ............................................................................. 9 Figure 5: How many weeks have you skied in the last 3 years? .............................................. 10 Figure 6: Where increase is coming from by weeks skied ....................................................... 10 Figure 7: Which activities did you participate in on your last ski holiday? ............................. 10 Figure 8: Where the increase is coming from by activity ........................................................ 10 Figure 9: Where the increase is coming from by activity ........................................................ 10 Figure 10: Increases by age ...................................................................................................... 14 Figure 11: Are you male or female? .......................................................................................... 15 Figure 12: Lapsed skiers. How likely are you to ski again in the next three years? ................. 16 Figure 13: Non-skiers. How likely are you to ski in the next three years? .............................. 10 Figure 14: Please tell us why you are unlikely to ski. ............................................................... 18 Figure 15: Which category includes your age? New Skiers/Other 2016.................................. 19 Figure 16: Which category includes your age? New Skiers/Other 2017 .................................. 19 Figure 17: When do you intend to go skiing again? .................................................................20 Figure 18: When do you intend to go skiing again? Last skied season before. ....................... 21 Figure 19: When do you intend to go skiing again? Last skied season before that. ................ 21 Figure 20: How did you book the following parts of your last ski trip? (2016)....................... 24 Figure 21: How did you book the following parts of your last ski trip? (2017) ....................... 25 Figure 22: Sizing the independent market 2017 ...................................................................... 26 Figure 23: Independent travel and accommodation by age .................................................... 26 Figure 24: Independent travel by party composition .............................................................. 24 Figure 25: % of 7 day breaks by Independent or Ski Company ...............................................28 Figure 26: Booked Independently by New Skiers ................................................................... 29 Figure 27: Independent or not by duration ............................................................................. 29 Figure 28: The NPS of Ski ........................................................................................................ 32 Figure 29: What promoters like about skiing .......................................................................... 33 Figure 30: What passives say about skiing .............................................................................. 34 Figure 31: How ski NPS varies with age .................................................................................. 35 Figure 32: How NPS varies with ski experience ...................................................................... 36 Figure 33: NPS by which activities did you participate on your last ski holiday..................... 36 Figure 34: NPS Spend per head on travel and accommodation .............................................. 37 Figure 35: Who did you travel with on your last ski break? .................................................... 39 Figure 36: Who did you travel with on your last ski break? New skiers 2016........................ 40 Figure 37: Who did you travel with on your last ski break? New skiers 2017 ........................ 40 Figure 38: When did you book your last ski holiday? ............................................................. 41 Figure 39: When did you book your last ski holiday by under/over 30. Above 2016. Below 2017 .......................................................................................................................................... 42 Figure 40: When did you book by how much you spent ......................................................... 10

Figure 41: When did you travel? .............................................................................................. 44 Figure 42: When did you travel by age (2016)......................................................................... 45 Figure 43: When did you travel by age (2017) ......................................................................... 45 Figure 44: How much was spent per person on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, hire and ski school ................................................................................................ 46 Figure 45: Over/under 30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; How much was spent per person on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, hire and ski school (2016). ....................................................................... 47 Figure 46: Over/under 30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; How much was spent per person on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, hire and ski school (2017) ........................................................................48 Figure 47: New skiers - How much was spent per person on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, hire and ski school.................................................................................... 49 Figure 48: Long and short breaks ............................................................................................50 Figure 49: What type of accommodation did you stay in? How did you book the following parts of your last ski trip? ........................................................................................................ 52 Figure 50: Thinking about your skiing habits over the next three years, do you think the number of ski holidays you take is likely to increase, decline or stay the same? .................... 54 Figure 51:By age: Thinking about your skiing habits over the next three years, do you think the number of ski holidays you take is likely to increase, decline or stay the same? (2016) ... 55 Figure 52: By age: Thinking about your skiing habits over the next three years, do you think the number of ski holidays you take is likely to increase, decline or stay the same? (2017) ... 56 Figure 53: Have you been on a mountain/alpine holiday in the summer over the last 5 years? .................................................................................................................................................. 57 Figure 54: Have you been on a mountain/alpine holiday in the summer over the last 5 years? by which category above includes your age? ........................................................................... 57 Figure 55: From the options below, what's most important to you when deciding to book a ski holiday? .............................................................................................................................. 58 Figure 56: Tour Operator NPS scores (2017) ......................................................................... 60 Figure 57: Tour Operator NPS scores (2016) .......................................................................... 61 Figure 58: Tour Operator NPS scores (2015) .......................................................................... 61 Figure 59: NPS scores by tour operator category .................................................................... 62 Figure 60: Promoters comments ............................................................................................. 63 Figure 61: Detractors Comments ............................................................................................. 64 Figure 62: How did you travel to your last ski break? ............................................................. 66 Figure 63: Which airport did you fly to? ................................................................................. 67 Figure 64: Do you own your own snowsports equipment ....................................................... 67 Figure 65: Which equipment do you own? ..............................................................................68 Figure 66: How recently did you buy your last piece of equipment? ...................................... 69 Figure 67: How recently did you buy your last piece of clothing? ........................................... 69 Figure 68: How did you buy your last piece of snowsports equipment? ................................. 70 Figure 69: How likely are you to recommend the place you purchased your equipment to a friend or colleague?.................................................................................................................. 70 Figure 70: How did you buy your last piece of snowsports clothing? ..................................... 71 Figure 71: Retail NPS clothing ................................................................................................. 72 Figure 72: Where skiers go ...................................................................................................... 74 Figure 73: Country NPS scores ................................................................................................ 75 Figure 74: Year on year changes in country NPS..................................................................... 76 Figure 75: Country retention rates 2017 .................................................................................. 77 Figure 76: Year on year changes in retention rates. ................................................................ 77 Figure 77: How likely are you to return to the resort in which you last skied? ....................... 78 Figure 78: Resort choice 2016 ................................................................................................. 79 Figure 79: Resort choice 2017 .................................................................................................. 79

Figure 80: Which of the following social media channels do you use regularly? ...................89 Figure 81: Rank in order of importance what snowsport information you look for on social media .......................................................................................................................................89 Figure 82: How has Brexit affected your holiday plans for the next 12 months? ................... 10 Figure 83: Will Brexit make you more likely to book your holiday(s) outside the EU? ......... 90

Welcome to the Ski Club of Great Britain Consumer Research Report 2017. This is the fifth year of the research project and as always it would not be possible without the support of our partners in the snowsports industry, we would like to say a huge thank you to them and all their customers who have taken the time to complete our survey. This year we gathered data from over 35 sources including tour operators, airlines, retailers, tourist boards, governing bodies and other industry partners, resulting in over 12,000 responses. The purpose of this research is to show the performance of the snow sports industry and give insight into the habits, intentions and attitudes of the UK snowsports consumer. The report also looks at the state of the market and potential for growth or decline in the future. Every year we like to improve & expand the report to find other useful industry insights. Amongst this year’s themes are Advocacy, Potential Demand and the Uncertainty of Brexit. We have also continued our research into the consumer journey, from their booking methods and resort preference to their retail experience and spend per trip, with the aim of fully understanding the ski enthusiast. Last year we looked at the immediate impact of the EU referendum by collecting responses both before and after the voting. A year later we have again asked consumers their thoughts on Brexit’s impact on their holiday plans. We’ve also asked them about their social media use in order to better reach our customers and utilise our advocates. We hope that you find the research data insightful and valuable to your business. If your organisation would like to take part in further research or if you have any feedback or questions then please feel free to contact us. Best regards,

Robert Crowder Chairman Ski Club of Great Britain

1. Executive summary and highlights Skiers love skiing. Even more than they did last year. The Net Promoter Score of ski has risen to slightly to over 83. To understand more about Net Promoter Score (NPS) go to Section 5 The NPS of Ski. A massive 85.7% of skiers scored their likelihood to recommend skiing to a friend or colleague as extremely likely. Across age bands people who ski are enthusiastic advocates. The score drops slightly with the over 60s – but only because they feel their cohort may be getting a little too old to take up the sport. In commercial terms advocacy is what we are measuring here – and it peaks amongst the younger age groups. Those in the 21-29 and 30-39 age groups share the highest NPS at 86. Novices are only slightly less enthusiastic – but once they have skied more than once their scores rise significantly (from 67 to 79) and once people have skied 10 weeks their scores rise to 85.

Ski companies are improving too. We asked people how they rated the ski company they booked with - again, using the NPS system. This year the NPS for ski companies overall rose from 32 to 33.8 and the company with the highest NPS scored a very impressive 87 (up from 80 the previous year). Skiers love skiing and they love many (but not all) all the companies that help them do so.

The independent market is static. Further positive news for the ski industry lies in the apparent static size of the independent market. In 2016, we estimated that 34% of respondents booked their travel and accommodation independently. This figure may not be wholly reliable (we would have to take a more structured sample of the UK market to get a figure that we could rely upon more precisely). However, what is interesting is that this figure has not changed from 2016 to 2017. No growth and no decline.

Skiers are not concerned about Brexit. More than 50% of skiers said that Brexit has had no impact on their holiday plans for the next 12 months – although 31% said that their holidays will cost more. Also 97% of the skiers who skied this season say they are likely to ski next season too. The same figure we found in 2016. Only 6% of skiers said that they are planning to holiday outside the EU because of Brexit.

Strong potential demand from existing skiers. From what we can see there is strong latent demand in the market and that this latent demand is growing. We use a net increase figure for this. The net increase is calculated by asking people whether the number of ski holidays they take is likely to increase, decline or stay the same. Subtracting the decliners from the increasers gives us our net increase. Last year we found a net potential increase of 21% - this year that has risen to 26%. Good news if that demand can be realised and harvested.

But clouds remain. By most criteria ski is a market doing reasonably well. It is resilient, made up of affluent wealthy enthusiasts who seem to weather economic storms well. They value their skiing holidays want to do more. However, all markets need new blood. Even the most resilient markets decline. The process is called natural attrition. People age, their interests and circumstances change, they trade off one activity against another. Unless more people come into skiing than leave through natural attrition the market will shrink putting pressure on those organisations that exist to serve the market. We can’t tell what the attrition rate is in the ski market – but anecdotally we can be pretty sure that the rate of acquiring new skiers has declined significantly since 2008.

Better serving those that ski Is the industry giving people what they want? Perhaps not. Some 48% of respondents said they were not happy with the status quo in the ski market – seeking flexible travel dates and flexible lengths of stay. Something that ski companies find difficult to accommodate but skiers find easier to do by booking independently. The established ski companies find themselves in something of a pincer movement – little growth in demand on the one side (and growing costs) with increasing competition from independent booking on the other. Page | 3 © 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

We noted above that the independent market seems to be static. Some level of equilibrium may have been reached – no further growth in independent skiing and perhaps little attrition amongst skiers. But ultimately businesses and markets are there to serve the customer’s needs. Recently LinkedIn and Twitter have been awash with what probably is best defined as a business meme. Its basic form is this: Netflix did not kill Blockbuster. They did it themselves with ridiculous late fees. Apple did not kill the music industry. They did it themselves by forcing people to buy full length albums And so on for several other examples. Its point is that being non-customer centric is the biggest threat to any business. Are ski companies listening closely enough to the market and to their customers or are they providing what they have provided for some time? If ski companies are going to harvest the potential demand that exists in the market they need to make sure they have what their customers want or they may just go elsewhere and get it for themselves.

Growing the market People who ski love skiing. They also tell us they are enthusiastic advocates of the experience – the clear majority of people would be extremely likely to recommend skiing to a friend or colleague. When we look at people who don’t ski we have some positives in terms of how likely they may be to ski – but we still have some 60% who wouldn’t consider it. These ‘rejecters’ see skiing as expensive, dangerous or ‘not for people like me’. The perception of skiing amongst non-skiers needs some attention. And it seems the things that catch the public’s attention - such as Channel 4’s The Jump - are not helping this perception. Almost 85% of respondents who had watched The Jump felt it did not present the correct image of snowsports. Addressing the perception of skiing and the attitudes toward it from non-skiers is an important piece of work. It’s not within the scope of this project - but understanding the non-customer, their objections and how to overcome them is a key route to starting to grow the whole market once again. The other way to grow is by bridging the gap between skiers and non-skiers. If skiers are such strong advocates of the skiing experience why is their advocacy falling on deaf ears? How can we mobilise the existing skiers to help us find more?

2. Methodology The current ski market remains a market that is being driven by people who have already been skiing. New entrants are hard to come by and the traditional ‘feeder’ route of school ski holidays has been in decline for some years. Next season we may see the worsening exchange rate affecting participation – but this is unlikely to have much effect on the habitual skier. The ski market has shrunk in the last few years, which leaves a smaller base of customers for organisations to compete for. So, having a better understanding of the people who are going skiing will help all those businesses and organisations that serve skiers to serve them better, and so become more successful. Out of this simple insight the methodology for this research exercise was determined. Who would have the best access to current and lapsed skiers? The answer, organisations that already operate in the ski market.

Figure 1: Methodology Over 35 organisations took part in the Ski Club Consumer Research 2017. Data was collected by distributing a link to the email bases and social media of these organisations which included • • • •

Tour operators Travel providers Equipment retailers Tourist boards

The survey link was distributed to some 1 million email addresses and over 12,000 responses were collected to a comprehensive online questionnaire.

THE CONSUMER

3. Response Overview The survey generated 12,095 responses in total. Of these, 10,954 were skiers and 1,501 were not. The reason we are able to survey non-skiers is that several participating organisations have databases that hold a wider audience than just skiers.

12,455 total responses

10,954 skiers

1,501 non-skiers

Figure 2: Response Overview

In 2014 we generated 12,000 responses from skiers, in 2015 around 15,000, in 2016 a record 17,000 and this year another 12,000. This gives us base of over 56,000 responses, which can provide a deep insight into the UK ski market. The focus of this report, as always, is largely skiers who are already in the market â&#x20AC;&#x201C; what their intentions are, how they book, how they rate countries and resorts and what they intend to do in the future. It provides insight and information for businesses and organisations currently operating in or considering entering the ski market. However, the data from people who have not skied for some time, or who have not skied at all, provides valuable insight into how the market may grow.

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3.1 How recently respondents skied

Earlier

2014/2015 season

The season before last (2015/2016)

10%

Last season (2016/2017)

76%

Figure 3: How recently respondents took a skiing holiday

Most of the respondents had skied last season 76% and a total of 86% of the respondents who were skiers had been on a skiing holiday either last season or the season before. This makes the data highly relevant to understand who is in the market at the moment, what they think of the various aspects of a skiing holiday and what can be improved to serve them better.

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3.2 Ski experience of respondents

30 weeks or more 25 to 30 weeks 20 to 25 weeks

42% 6% 8%

15 to 20 weeks

10 to 15 weeks 5 to 10 weeks

10% 8%

2 to 5 weeks 1 week or less

13% 6%

Figure 4: How many weeks have you skied? Some 65% of the responders had skied more than 15 weeks and an impressive 42% had skied for more than 30 weeks â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this is an experienced and discerning audience who understand what they want and who are willing to tell us about it.

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44%

21% 15%

14% 7%

3 to 5

6 to 9

10 or more

Figure 5: How many weeks have you skied in the last 3 years?

We also asked skiers how many weeks they had skied in the last 3 years. We not only have people who have a lot of experience they are also frequent skiers in the recent past.

Increase

48%

43%

52%

42%

1 week or 2 to 5 weeks less

54%

Decline

Stay the same

62%

32%

10 to 15 weeks

66%

65%

63%

31%

29%

30%

15 to 20 weeks

20 to 25 weeks

40%

5 to 10 weeks

Figure 6: Where increase is coming from by weeks skied Page | 10 ÂŠ 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

25 to 30 30 weeks or weeks more

The more experienced skiers are more likely to keep their existing level of skiing but even here 30% express a desire to ski more. The ‘new starters’ are those with the greatest appetite to increase their skiing activity – although the 1 week or less skiers are the highest decline rate – but even here only 9% have said they will ski less in future. Another indicator that once people start they get hooked.

3.3 Ski Activities 2017 88%

2016

92%

39% 39% 17%

12%

8% 6%

3% 3%

7% 7%

4% 4%

Figure 7: Which activities did you participate in on your last ski holiday?

The vast majority (88%) of people who go on snowsports holidays go to ski. Of these 39% ski off-piste. Snowboarding accounts for some 17% of activity – an increase on last year possibly reflecting a younger audience completing the surveys. Freestyle has also shown an increase by 4% again maybe reflecting the same trend. Cross country and ski touring, remain small and specialist areas for skiers. As you can see from the table below, there is an increase in respondents under the age of 40 from 15% last year to 23% in this year’s results, possibly reflected in the changes above re activities participated in. The number of respondents Over 40 years has reduced from 85% to 77%.

Increase

61%

59%

53%

Decline

Stay the same

53%

51%

43% 60%

62% 8%

6% 33%

5% 36%

40%

7% 42%

8% 49%

33%

30%

Figure 8: Where the increase is coming from by activity

Those who freestyle ski whilst on their holidays are the most positive about their increasing ski activity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; followed by cross country skiers (though the numbers are small in terms of those who participate in cross country skiing). Snowboarders are also more likely than skiers to see their activity increase in future.

3.4 Age and gender

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2017

2016

32% 26%

11%

34%

26%

23%

25%

10%

Figure 9: Age of respondents

Increase

Decline

Stay the same

42% 55%

62%

64%

69%

7% 10%

51% 36%

21-29

30-39

34%

40-49

32%

50-59

22% 60 or older

Figure 10: Increases by age The younger audience are those that are most positive about skiing more in the future. As we move up the age bands positive intent declines. Even so an impressive 22% of over 60s want to ski more in the future. Page | 13 ÂŠ 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

The 30-39 year olds show the largest decline perhaps reflecting the break many families take when they have young children.

Male

Female

30%

70%

Figure 11: Are you male or female?

This is roughly the same as 2016 data and reflects the sport being male dominant. It would be great to see some more incentives to encourage more women to participate in snowsports.

3.5 Are the ex-skiers coming back? The research also collected responses from people who hadn’t been skiing in the last three seasons. We asked these lapsed skiers on a scale of 0 to 10 ‘how likely are you to go on a skiing holiday in the next three years?’

2017

2016 19%

15%

14% 14% 12% 10%

10%

6% 4%

11% 11% 10% 10%

8% 6%

5% 5%

Figure 12: Lapsed skiers. How likely are you to ski again in the next three years?

Some 24% of the people who hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been skiing in the last 3 seasons are highly likely to return to skiing within three years. This is another increase on last year of some 4% - a positive indicator of potential demand in the market, which has increased by 6% over the last two years of results.

3.6 The appetite for skiing amongst non-skiers The 1,501 people who had never been on a skiing holiday were also asked how likely they were to take a ski holiday in the next three years.

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2017

2016

33% 29%

9% 6%

13% 11% 7% 7%

10% 7%

4% 1%

Figure 13: Non-skiers. How likely are you to ski in the next three years?

Unsurprisingly, less of this group intend to ski than those who had been skiing before, but some 12% gave a very strong indication of an intention to ski (scoring their intent as a 9 or 10). This was a significant 7% up on the previous year which is extremely positive after the decrease in last year’s survey. Also, we can see that the ski ‘rejecters’ have decreased. In 2015 and 2016 the figure was 33% but this year it is 29%. The 2014 figure for rejecters was 45% so we have a 16% positive decrease over three years of those rejecting skiing. We also asked people who said they didn’t intend to ski, to tell us why they gave that answer.

2017

28%

2016

30% 23% 18% 15% 11% 5%

17%

11% 8%

7% 4%

21%

Figure 14: Please tell us why you are unlikely to ski. Expense remains the reason most often stated, but over 70% of those responding had a different reason for not trying skiing. The 21% who responded ‘other’ often felt they were too old or not fit enough. The ‘no one to ski with’ response has increased by 3%. Holidays geared towards solo skiers who can join others of the same ability would obviously be a good target for these skiers. Perception of it being a dangerous sport has fallen from 15% to 11%. Family size as a restriction to taking a ski holiday has increased by 4%.

New Skiers 2016

All Other Skiers 2016 35%

33% 26%

26%

25%

17%

16%

9% 5%

21-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60 or older

Figure 15: Which category includes your age? New Skiers/Other 2016

New Skiers 2017

All Other Skiers

35% 32% 25%

25%

23%

19% 15% 9%

11% 6%

21-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60 or older

Figure 16: Which category includes your age? New Skiers/Other 2017 Double the number of new skiers are in the 21-29 year category this year compared to last year (15% in 2017 vs 7% in 2016) plus an increase of another 3% in the 30-39 new skiers age group. Both these age categories have seen numbers of skiers increase in the not new skiers. Of those people, we identified as being new skiers 35% were aged 40-49. The 60+ age Page | 18 ÂŠ 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

category has seen a decrease in numbers of new skiers by over half. The 40-49 year olds remain an important target area but it is positive to see the numbers of new skiers grow in the younger age categories.

3.7 Repeat purchase

97%

Next season

The one after that

Later

I dont intend to go skiing again

Figure 17: When do you intend to go skiing again?

Most of the people in the market intend to be in it next year too. These figures remain the same as 2016. 97% say they are going to ski again next year. Skiers are incredibly loyal to skiing holidays – this has not changed over the years this survey has been running, last year the figure rose to where it remains now. Only 3% of people have decided not to go skiing again next season - It is positive that this figure remains so low and 0% say they do not intend to ski again – only 32 respondents said they would not go skiing again – a number too low to register in the chart. Of skiers who haven’t skied for two seasons (see below) 84% say they will ski again next season and only 1% say they won’t ski again.

84%

10% 4% Next season

The one after that

Later

1% I dont intend to go skiing again

Figure 18: When do you intend to go skiing again? Last skied season before.

When skiers have not skied for 3 seasons the intention to return figures declines with only 65% saying they would return the next season and 3% saying they would not ski again.

65%

18%

14% 3%

Next season

The one after that

Later

I dont intend to go skiing again

Figure 19: When do you intend to go skiing again? Last skied season before that. Page | 20 ÂŠ 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

THE HOLIDAY MARKET

Photo: Ross Woodhall

4. Sizing the market: accounting for the independent traveller. Market sizing is a complex and expensive task. As an industry, wintersports lacks reliable figures to estimate the true size of the market. This is largely due to the various ways people can put together their ski breaks. People can book a complete package or buy each element independently. They can also partially package (buying their accommodation from a travel company but arranging their own travel, for example). Skiers may also switch from one mode to another – even within the same season. To accurately estimate the size of the market we would have to draw a large sample from the UK population as a whole - accurately designed to reflect the structure of the UK. We can, however, draw some reasonable estimates by asking people currently in the market how they booked. It is likely, however, that this will still underestimate the size of the independent market. This year we asked a question ‘How did you book the following parts of your last ski trip?’ • • • •

Flight/train/ferry Accommodation Transfer from airport Ski school/lessons

We then gave them the option to tell us for each element whether that was booked: • • •

By themselves As part of a package By a friend/family member on their behalf

The results are shown here.

Flight/train/ferry

18.80%

31.20%

Accommodation

11.90%

44.20%

Transfer from airport

Ski school/lessons

2.20%

10%

67.10%

36%

46.60%

12.40%

41.50%

9.40%

14.60% 5% 2.50%

I booked myself

I booked as part of a package

A friend/family member booked on my behalf

N/A

Figure 20: How did you book the following parts of your last ski trip? (2016)

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Flight/train/ferry

19.60%

31.00%

Accommodation

11.70%

43.50%

Transfer from airport

Ski school/lessons

2.80%

12%

65.90%

35.40%

44.60%

46.50%

14.30%

41.60%

11.40%

14.00%

4% 2.40% I booked myself

I booked as part of a package

A friend/family member booked on my behalf

N/A

Figure 21: How did you book the following parts of your last ski trip? (2017)

From this evidence, we could say that almost 45% of the market books their own travel and 35% book their own accommodation. These figures are remarkably consistent year on year. But we might want to define the independent market as those that book both their travel and accommodation themselves. In order to quantify this group, we looked at those people who told us that for their last ski break they booked both their travel and accommodation themselves. The results give us a reliable estimate of the size of the independent market.

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Booked Accommodation and Travel Independently

All Others

34%

66%

Figure 22: Sizing the independent market 2017

More remarkable consistency between the years. The data matches exactly year on year.

Booked Accommodation and Travel Indepently

72%

28%

21-29

All Others

63%

64%

65%

69%

37%

36%

35%

31%

30-39

40-49

50-59

60 or older

Figure 23: Independent travel and accommodation by age

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Looking at who is more likely to book independently â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the younger age group are less likely to book their own travel and accommodation and those in the 30 to 49 age group are most likely. Booked Accommodation and Travel Indepently

60%

40%

My family

62%

38%

With other families

All Others

70%

67%

30%

33%

With friends

As a couple

I travelled alone

76%

24% Other

Figure 24: Independent travel by party composition

Also, families are more likely to book independently â&#x20AC;&#x201C; perhaps because of the larger party sizes.

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Independent

Ski Company 76%

49%

Independent

Ski Company

Figure 25: % of 7 day breaks by Independent or Ski Company

Independent travellers are less likely to book a standard 7-day break. Though this has to be partly supply driven â&#x20AC;&#x201C; flexible durations are more easily accommodated by independent booking than they are through booking with a ski company, However, overall, the people who book independently look very similar to those that book with a tour operator in terms of who they travel with.

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Booked Accommodation and Travel Indepently

65%

66%

30%

35%

34%

New Skiers 2016

All Other Skiers 2017

All Other Skiers 2016

70%

77%

23% New Skiers 2017

All Others

Figure 76: Booked Independently by New Skiers

Unsurprisingly, new skiers are much less likely to book independently than the more experienced â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but amongst those new to skiing 23% chose to book independently, a decrease of 7% from last year. Booked Accommodation and Travel Indepently

All Others

75%

58% 52%

59%

56% 48%

44%

42%

41%

55% 45%

25%

Up to 3 days

3 to 5 days

7 days

10 days

14 days

Figure 27: Independent or not by duration

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Other

The dominance of tour operators in the core 7-day market is clear. Though for other durations – are particularly short breaks – self-packaging wins out. It would seem that these non-standard durations are areas of opportunity for the ski companies if they can adapt their business models to serve those markets.

THE NPS OF SKIING

Photo: Ross Woodhall

5. The NPS of Ski

Figure 28: The NPS of Ski

5.1 Understanding Net Promoters Scores The Net Promoter Score, or NPS®, is based on the fundamental perspective that customers can be divided into three categories: Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. By asking one simple question — how likely is it that you would recommend a product, service or company to a friend or colleague? — you can track these groups and get a clear measure of performance through your customers’ eyes. Customers respond on a 0-to-10 point rating scale and are categorised as follows: • • •

Promoters (score 9-10) are loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others, fuelling growth. Passives (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings. Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy customers who can damage your brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth.

To calculate your company’s NPS, take the percentage of customers who are Promoters and subtract the percentage who are Detractors - your NPS can range from -100 to +100. A twohundred-point scale. More can be found out about this approach here: http://www.netpromoter.com This data provides a rich vein to mine – like speaking to 12,000 people and letting them say, in their words, what they like or don’t like about ski holidays. It seems for the majority the often-difficult hurdles people have to overcome to get to the slopes are more than outweighed by the pleasure they get on the slopes and from the ski resort environment. But if you haven’t skied overcoming these issues may not look like such an easy task. If one were to measure skiing on a different dimension – how easy is it to buy, to travel, to get what you need – the score might look quite different. The big question is – how do we begin to exploit the advocacy? Has the time come for the ski industry to really understand what the market wants – not just what committed skiers want? The NPS of ski is a very impressive 83% - up 1 from 82 last year. Page | 31 © 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

We may in many ways be talking to the converted but there can be few markets that have such an impressive band of loyal advocates. The only problem is who is listening? If 80% of people who go on a skiing holiday would recommend it to a friend or colleague, why aren’t we seeing more new skiers enter the market? Perhaps the answer lies in the negative sentiment given even by advocates of skiing. We received over 15,000 verbatim comments from people telling why they scored ski holidays in the way they did. Looking at promoters’ comments (those that score 9 or 10) it is understandable that what they love about skiing is, skiing.

Figure 29: What promoters like about skiing

The promoters are by definition strong advocates. Some of the things they say: • • • •

I enjoy skiing so much I think everyone should try it at least once It is a fantastic family holiday that everyone enjoys and actively participates in Fallen in love with skiing as a late starter Fantastic atmosphere on the slopes and a great start to the year

Passives – those that score 7 or 8 are somewhat more reticent. They like skiing but don’t always love it as much as the promoters – and some reticence comes to fore with regard to their friends and colleagues wish to ski.

Figure 30: What passives say about skiing Some of their comments: • • • • •

As long as you are reasonably fit it's a great holiday It depends on the person, but I love skiing! It's a good sport, but it's not cheap and it's not for everyone It's fun but not for everyone Love skiing but would not push friends to go

The detractors (scoring 6 or less) are not many and their comments often reflect a reticence to recommend more than a dislike of the activity. For some, they realise skiing is not for everyone, for others, they have either already recommended skiing to their social group or they are of an age where few of their friends would be likely to take it up. • • • •

Ageing friends! It's not for everyone At a time of cutbacks, it is becoming harder to justify a winter break. Not many friends of my age group likely to take up skiing

It seems skiing is almost universally liked by those who try it – few if any detractors complain about the experience but the costs get in the way for the ‘floating voter’, the undecided passives who probably find it easier not to go every year. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges the ski industry faces in mobilising its advocates to recruit more skiers is that although they love the skiing they don’t have such a positive attitude about getting to the slopes, the costs of it and often what is delivered in terms of food and service. Will skiing remain a holiday for the committed rather than a new convert?

5.2 Finding the greatest advocates The rate of advocacy varies little by where people ski but does vary by age and experience. Interestingly, this year those aged 21-39 are the strongest advocates with an NPS of 86. Across all ages the NPS is higher in this year’s results. – those who have skied one week or less are less enthusiastic (NPS=67) than those who have skied 30 weeks or more (NPS=86). So in contrast to last year, the younger ages have a very high advocacy, which declines with age. 2017 86

2016

86 84

84 83

82 81

81 78 76

Figure 31: How ski NPS varies with age

The other big difference in NPS comes when looking at ski experience. This is in some ways self-fulfilling. People who have skied more have proved that they are enthusiastic about ski. Those who have only skied for one week are not as enthusiastic although the level of 67 is higher than last year (59).

Figure 32: How NPS varies with ski experience 2017 91 76 75

87 85

2016

87 86 78 79

83 81

Figure 33: NPS by which activities did you participate on your last ski holiday Page | 35 ÂŠ 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

83 81

Freestyle had the highest NPS at 91%. This relatively new sport in skiing continues to grow in popularity and has the ‘fun’ element which skiers are obviously enjoying. There are no low NPS scores as you would expect. Ski touring has increased its NPS score from 79 to 84.

NPS of spend per person on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, hire and ski school

2017

81 71

86 77

2016

Less than £250 per person

Between £250 and £500 per person

Between Between Between Between More than £500 and £750 and £1,000 and £1,250 and £1,500 £750 per £1,000 per £1,250 per £1,500 per person person person person

Figure 34: NPS Spend per head on travel and accommodation

This chart hints at dissatisfaction amongst those people spending less – particularly those spending £250 or less per person. Some of these are new entrants to wintersports – the group the industry can least afford to lose, but many are experienced and older skiers. It seems when the spend goes above £500 and £750 pp the satisfaction remains high across the spend levels.

WHO IS SKIING? Photo: Melody Sky

6. Who, when, how much? We asked respondents several questions about who went with them on their last ski break, when they booked and travelled and how much they spent. This information is available at a far more detailed level in the full data set.

6.1 Party composition Skiing is a sociable and family friendly activity. Some 38% of our respondents had skied with their own and other families on their last ski break (as per 2016). 33% had skied with friends â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and a further 19% as a couple. 2016

2017 33% 32%

My family

With other families

5% 6% 31%

With friends

33% 20% 19%

As a couple

I travelled alone

Other

7% 6% 4% 5%

Figure 35: Who did you travel with on your last ski break?

These figures are roughly in line with those we gathered last year although the numbers of skiers travelling alone has fallen by just 1%. The sociable nature of a ski holiday makes it an ideal holiday for people travelling on their own whether they are single or not.

Interestingly when we isolated new skiers for the first time in 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the data showed they were more likely to go skiing with their family than those that had skied before and this is even stronger this year with 40% of new skiers saying they are more likely to go with their family. Page | 38 ÂŠ 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

All Other Skiers 2016

New Skiers 2016 31%

My family

39% 30% 27%

With friends 20% 18%

As a couple 7% 6%

I travelled alone With other families

6% 6%

Other

6% 4%

Figure 36: Who did you travel with on your last ski break? New skiers 2016

All Other Skiers

New Skiers 2017 32%

My family With friends

29% 19% 19%

As a couple I travelled alone

5% 7%

With other families Other

33%

Figure 37: Who did you travel with on your last ski break? New skiers 2017

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40%

6.2 Booking lead time The booking profile for skiers is even more encouraging: 66% booking 3 months or more before they travel and only 12% booking less than a month before their trip. This has remained almost the same as last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s figures with 2% increase in earlier bookings, a positive for Tour Operators.

39%

27% 22%

12%

6 months or more before I travelled

Between 3 and 6 months before I travelled

Between 1 and 3 months before I travelled

Less than a month before travel

Figure 38: When did you book your last ski holiday?

Looking at the booking lead time by under /over 30s, 40% of the over 30s book 6 months or more before they travel, up 4 % on last winter. Interestingly there are not more under 30s booking last minute, this category still has a higher number of over 30s 13% vs 11 %. Taking the figures across all categories, the biggest difference is in the earlier bookings where 14% more over 30s book more than six months in advance.

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Under 30

36%

30 and over

39%

28%

24%

25%

22%

11%

6 months or more before I travelled

Between 3 and 6 months before I travelled

Between 1 and 3 months before I travelled

14%

Less than a month before travel

Figure 39: When did you book your last ski holiday by under/over 30. Above 2016. Below 2017

Under 30

Over 30

40%

34% 26%

26%

28% 21% 11%

6 months or more before I travelled

Between 3 and 6 months before I travelled

Between 1 and 3 months before I travelled

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13%

Less than a month before travel

£500 or less

More than £1,000

49%

25%

28%

28% 23%

24% 16%

6 months or more before Between 3 and 6 months Between 1 and 3 months Less than a month before I travelled before I travelled before I travelled travel

Figure 40: When did you book by how much you spent

It is interesting to see the difference in when bookings are made between those spending more than £1,000 per head on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment hire and ski school and those spending less than £500. Those spending less are relatively evenly spread in terms of booking lag but those that spend the most are far more likely to book early.

6.3 When did you travel? We asked people who skied last season when they travelled on their last ski break.

64%

Christmas

New Year

12%

13%

February half term

Easter

Outside of these peak dates

Figure 41: When did you travel?

The industry understandably focusses on the peak weeks of Christmas, New Year, February half term and Easter. But many more people travel outside of these peak dates. These figures are consistent with last year’s data with a slight decrease in skiers over the Easter period (15-13%), perhaps as it was a ‘late’ Easter and a small increase to 12% of skiers travelling over February half term. Figures skiing at Christmas remain the same despite poor early season snow for 3- 4 years in a row.

21-29

17%

30-39

40-49

50-59

12%

21%

60 or older

14% 31%

34%

36%

37%

32%

34%

29%

41%

35% 20%

10%

11%

10%

7% 4%

Christmas

New Year

February half term

10%

Easter

Outside of these peak dates

Figure 8: When did you travel by age? (2016) 21-29

12%

31%

18%

30-39

40-49

50-59

10%

60 or older

13% 28%

32% 29%

35% 32%

28%

23%

13%

15%

17%

16%

Christmas

New Year

41%

35%

20%

11%

10%

12%

February half term

Easter

Outside of these peak dates

Figure 43: When did you travel by age (2017)

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When we looked at these figures broken down by age – as one might expect the older and younger markets have greater flexibility with those aged 40-49 perhaps most restricted to school holidays – February and Easter due to having children to take with them, 20% of this age group travelling in the February half term. Vastly bigger numbers across all age categories travelled off the peak dates. Maybe keen skiers are taking advantage of better priced holidays and quieter slopes off the peak dates. Some slackening of ‘fines’ within schools may mean some families are taking holidays away from peak weeks. Season 16/17 also saw a full week of holiday for schools before Christmas and this became a popular ‘off peak’ week for bookings.

6.4 Spend per head 2017

24% 21%

2016

25%

22%

17% 17% 13% 13%

12% 10%

11%

3% 3%

Less than £250 per person

Between £250 and £500 per person

Between Between Between Between More than £500 and £750 and £1,000 and £1,250 and £1,500 £750 per £1,000 per £1,250 per £1,500 per person person person person

Figure 44: How much was spent per person on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, hire and ski school

The spend per head has also remained fairly consistent once more; this year another small increase in the ‘more than £1,500’ spend per head taking it to over 3% increase in this category over the last three years.

Under 30

30 and over

30% 25%

25%

23% 19% 12%

11%

Between £250 and £500 per person

11%

9% 4%

3% Less than £250 per person

17%

Between Between Between Between More than £500 and £750 and £1,000 and £1,250 and £1,500 £750 per £1,000 per £1,250 per £1,500 per person person person person

Figure 45: Over/under 30 – How much was spent per person on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, hire and ski school (2016).

Under 30 26%

25%

Over 30

25% 23%

20%

11% 6%

18%

10% 5%

2% Less than £250 per person

Between £250 and £500 per person

13%

11% 4%

Between Between Between Between More than £500 and £750 and £1,000 and £1,250 and £1,500 £750 per £1,000 per £1,250 per £1,500 per person person person person

Figure 45: Over/under 30 – How much was spent per person on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, hire and ski school (2017) It’s clear and, as you would expect, the over 30s will spend in the upper scale of the spend categories and a higher number of under 30s will spend the least per head. 42% of the over 30s spending upwards of £1,000 on extras vs just 19% of the under 30s spending this amount.

New Skiers 2017

All Other Skiers

24%24% 21% 21%

19%

18% 17% 13%

12%

9% 10%

7% 3%

Less than £250 per person

Between £250 and £500 per person

Between Between Between Between More than £500 and £750 and £1,000 and £1,250 and £1,500 £750 per £1,000 per £1,250 per £1,500 per person person person person

Figure 46: New skiers - How much was spent per person on travel, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, hire and ski school 26% of new skiers spend less than £500 compared with 15% of all other skiers. Naturally as a new skier they may not want to spend too much on a first ski experience. There is not so much discrepancy between new skiers and non- new skiers in the other categories apart from at the top end where only 3% of new skiers spend more than £1,500 whereas 12% of other skiers spend more than this.

6.5 Long and short breaks The chart below combines long and short break frequencies. Reading from the left we can see that amongst the responders 62% took no short breaks, 21% took one short break and so on. 4% of responders did not take a longer stay – and interestingly there is a significant number who take two or more longer stays per year (24%).

Short Breaks

Longer Stays

62% 47%

24%

21%

4% 0

12%

7% 1% 2%

63%

46%

25%

20% 11%

8% 4%

3% 0

Short Breaks (4 days or less)

1% 3

8% 3%

Longer Stays (5 days or more)

Figure 47: Long and short breaks (2017 above, 2016 below)

Short breaks remain consistent year on year.

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3% 6+

6.6 Type of accommodation 2017

39%

2016

40%

21% 21% 21% 18%

4% 4% 1% 1%

3% 3%

5% 2% 2%

1% 1%

Figure 48: What type of accommodation did you stay in?

These figures are broadly similar to last year with a slight increase in those staying in selfcatering apartments.

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Booked Accommodation and Travel Independently

All Others

45% 29%

29%

32%

14% 8%

8% 2% 2%1%

5% 5% 1% 0%

9% 1%

3%2% 2%1%

1%0%

Figure 49: What type of accommodation did you stay in? How did you book the following parts of your last ski trip?

A higher percentage of people staying in hotels, club hotels and catered chalets were booked as part of a package or other. As you would expect, a higher number, 32% vs 14%, booked self-catering apartments and self-catering chalets (8 % vs 2%) themselves.

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GROWING THE MARKET

Photo: Melody Sky

7. Growing the market from within and ski habits Increase

Decline

Stay the same

62%

32%

2017

65%

28%

2016

Figure 50: Thinking about your skiing habits over the next three years, do you think the number of ski holidays you take is likely to increase, decline or stay the same? This is another statistic that shows positive increase. We asked people to tell us if they would ski more, less, the same amount in the next 3 years. Last year there was a net increase of 21%, this year the number of skiers who think they will increase their number of ski holidays has increased to 26%. Latent demand remains in the market – the opportunity to grow the market from within is increasing– despite the uncertainty over Brexit and the relatively poor exchange rates during the time the data was collected. Page | 53 © 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

Increase

Decline

Stay the same

100% 90% 80% 70%

50% 61%

66%

67%

30%

29%

28%

30-39

40-49

50-59

60% 50% 40%

9% 9%

30% 20%

70%

41%

10%

8% 22%

0% 21-29

60 or older

Figure 51: By age: Thinking about your skiing habits over the next three years, do you think the number of ski holidays you take is likely to increase, decline or stay the same? (2016)

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Increase

Decline

Stay the same

44% 59%

64%

66%

71%

7% 9%

49% 33%

21-29

30-39

32%

40-49

30%

50-59

21% 60 or older

Figure 52: By age: Thinking about your skiing habits over the next three years, do you think the number of ski holidays you take is likely to increase, decline or stay the same? (2017)

Year on year there has been a slight increase across all ages in their intent to ski over the next three years. With two exceptions: growing enthusiasm from the 21-29 year olds (their intent to ski more has risen from 41% to 49%) and a slight drop in over 60s.

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Visiting the mountains in summer Yes

35%

65%

Figure 53: Have you been on a mountain/alpine holiday in the summer over the last 5 years?

Yes

67%

66%

68%

64%

62%

33%

34%

32%

36%

38%

21-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60 or older

Figure 54: Have you been on a mountain/alpine holiday in the summer over the last 5 years? by which category above includes your age?

Age seems to have little factor in whether consumers have taken a summer mountain break with just a 5 % increase from the 21-29 year olds to the 60+ (33% - 38%). One third of Page | 56 ÂŠ 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

responses having taken summer alpine holidays – certainly a growth area for resorts and tour operators especially with the marketing of ‘active breaks’ such as yoga, hiking and cycling including road and the growing trend of e-biking.

From the options below, what's most important to you when deciding to book a ski holiday? Flexible travel dates

Flexible length of stay

I'm happy with whats available

32%

52%

16%

Figure 55: From the options below, what's most important to you when deciding to book a ski holiday?

Although 52% of people say they are happy with what is available when deciding to book a ski holiday another 48% seek flexible travel dates and flexible lengths of stay. Are tour operators only keeping 52% of the market happy?

TOUR OPERATORS Photo: Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus

8. How tour operators perform 8.1 NPS distribution for ski companies The spread of NPS scores amongst tour operators is wide. From a highly creditable 87 to a very poor -40. Niche operators tend to score better on NPS scores than the mainstream operators. This may be because they often find it easier to provide a more tailored and personal service. However, it should be remembered that although the absolute NPS provides a benchmark the key for individual organisations is to look to how they can improve year on year.

-40

Figure 56: Tour Operator NPS scores (2017)

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-9

Figure 57: Tour Operator NPS scores (2016) 79

-13

Figure 58: Tour Operator NPS scores (2015)

When we categorised the NPS scores by tour operator category we saw medium and niche players doing better than the average of large tour operators. This has held true for the last three years. This year the NPS scores are lower but the gap between them all has reduced.

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Figure 59: NPS scores by tour operator category

Large

Medium

Niche

50 42

When we categorised the NPS scores by tour operator category we saw medium and niche players doing better than the average of large tour operators. This has held true for the last three years. This year the NPS scores have improved somewhat for the larger operators, remained steady for the niche players but declined again for the those in the medium category

8.2 Ski Companies - Getting it right We also asked respondents to tell us why they gave that score. The image below shows a text analysis of the thousands of comments made by people who scored their tour operator as a 9 or 10. The size of the word in the diagram shows how many times it was mentioned. It seems every year that it’s all about good service. Friendly, helpful, efficient service, excellent accommodation and good value is what generates a high NPS – no great surprise!

Figure 60: Promoters comments

Some typical examples of what people who rate their ski company highly say. • • • • • •

Very efficient and reliable All round good customer service Accurate brochure information and good resort reps A fantastic experience - great service, great staff and great food An excellent company with a strong ethos on customer comfort and satisfaction Excellent price, excellent service both before and during trip, staff knowledge of resort and attention to detail

In some ways, you learn less from positive comments than from the negative. It seems that for happy customers they are often the ones who perceive that nothing has gone wrong and have enjoyed an uneventful yet enjoyable break.

8.3 What detractors say The word cloud below shows the detractor comments – again the size of the word relates to the number of mentions.

Figure 61: Detractors Comments

When we look at negative comments we can see some of the issues coming out • • • • • •

False promises Food was limiting Horrid holiday experience Hotel was in poor condition and service in hotel was not good It’s just another travel company No value add. No rep presence.

It seems that as for many industries it is service recovery that needs attention and also perhaps opening up more channels for feedback. It is difficult for us to know how many of these negative comments made it to operators and how well they were handled when they did. The rise in social media means that many detractors use the different platforms to air their comments more publicly. Most of the bigger tour operators have dedicated employees to manage their social media channels and this is especially key with snow and /or flight delays/issues.

THE TRAVEL & RETAIL EXPERIENCE

9. The Travel Experience 9.1 How skiers travel

Figure 62: How did you travel to your last ski break? 82%

Fly

Drive via Eurotunnel

Train/Eurostar

9.2 Where they fly to Figure 63: Which airport did you fly to?

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26%

10%

6% 6%

5% 5%

2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%

1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

10. Equipment and Clothing Some 92% of respondents own their equipment (skis or snowboard and/or bindings, ski or snowboard boots, helmet). Yes

92%

Figure 64: Do you own your own snowsports equipment

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91%

94%

69%

Helmet

Boots

Skis/Snowboard

Figure 65: Which equipment do you own?

It is interesting to note helmet ownership has gone up by 3% from last year.

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40%

26%

17%

Within the last 12 months

1-2 years ago

3-4 years ago

5+ years ago

2-3 years ago

Figure 66: How recently did you buy your last piece of equipment? 66% of those that had bought equipment had done so in the last two years and as last year 40% had purchased some equipment within the last 12 months.

52%

27%

12%

Within the last 12 months

1-2 years ago

3-4 years ago

5+ years ago

Figure 67: How recently did you buy your last piece of clothing?

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2-3 years ago

2017 49%

2016

48%

22%

24%

17%

21%

Figure 68: How did you buy your last piece of snowsports equipment?

The figures are very similar to 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 49% buying their snowsports equipment in a store and the other half split between in resort, online, eBay or other ways. In resort declines slightly where Online increases by 3% as we would expect with the continued growth of online retail. 2016

2017

27 23

21 18

10 5 0

-8 -15

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Figure 69: How likely are you to recommend the place you purchased your equipment to a friend or colleague?

The good news for the UK retailers is that buying in a UK store has the highest NPS with a growth of 4% from last year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; followed by online purchasing which has decreased its percentage. In resort purchases do not receive a positive NPS.

53%

30%

11% 2% UK in a store

In resort

Online

eBay

4% Other

Figure 70: How did you buy your last piece of snowsports clothing?

Obviously, it is easier to purchase clothing online (30% vs equipment 24%) but in store still holds a very high percentage (53%).

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2017 15 11

2016 15

9 3

-20

-18

Figure 71: Retail NPS clothing

A slightly less positive experience for UK stores when buying clothing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; here online overtakes in NPS scores. However, in resort fares even more badly than when buying equipment.

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COUNTRIES AND RESORTS

11. Countries and resorts Eastern Europe suffered a significant drop from 2016 - though elsewhere we are seeing scores generally hold steady and, particularly among the highest scoring countries, improve. New Skiers 2017

All Other Skiers 2017

48% 40%

18% 17% 12%11% 6%

2% 1%

7% 7% 1%

4% 6%3% 2% 5% 2% 0%

Figure 72: Where skiers go

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11.1 Country NPS scores Eastern European countries improved significantly after last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dip. There really is not much difference across the countries now with just France pipping Austria by 10% to take the top spot with a high of 69%.

2017

2016

66 61

40 30 30

31 31

45 44

46 45

47 48

14 8

-3

Figure 73: Country NPS scores

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60 51

11.2 Changes in NPS scores This year NPS scores have changed -

16 10 6 3

0 -1

-4

-5

-17 Figure 74: Year on year changes in country NPS For many markets, the NPS has declined â&#x20AC;&#x201C; though Sweden, USA, Finland, Canada and Austria have seen positive increases.

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11.3 Market retention rates 74%

61% 52%

50% 46%

45%

44%

42%

39% 35%

Figure 75: Country retention rates 2017

78 74 7172 69

62626461 59 52 4748 4444

France

Italy

58 57 54 52 50 50 49494849 46464846 48 46 43 43 42 39

Austria 2013

2014

Andorra 2015

Switzerland 2016

USA and Canada

2017

Figure 76: Year on year changes in retention rates can be seen above. Page | 76 ÂŠ 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

Eastern Europe

We asked people who had skied last season where they were likely to ski next. This enabled us to see a retention rate –this is demonstrated across 5 years - so for example – 74% of people who skied in France in 2016 most said they would ski in France again on their next ski break and this has reduced to 69% in this year’s survey. Most markets seem to be holding steady although Switzerland and USA/Canada have seen declines and Eastern Europe and Andorra have increased their retention rates.

11.4 Resort retention rates 32%

11%

10%

11% 8%

7% 4%

Figure 77: How likely are you to return to the resort in which you last skied?

This question asks people how likely they are to return to the resort they last skied. 40% responded with a 9 or 10, slightly higher than last year.

11.5 How people choose a resort

Figure 78: Resort choice 2016

Attribute That you are guaranteed snow Size of the ski area How busy the slopes are The price Quality of accommodation How hospitable the people are Short travel times Recommendations by friends/family Resort is purpose built ski in/ski out That the resort is traditional in style Online reviews from fellow skiers Quality of aprĂ¨s ski That you are familiar with the resort Activities outside skiing Your preferred ski company goes there Opportunity to book all-inclusive Facilities for children

Rank

Figure 79: Resort choice 2017

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

We asked people to score how important a variety of factors are in their decision to choose a ski destination. The scores ranged from 0 – not at all important to 10 – extremely important. The chart above ranks the average scores for each of these factors from the most important to the least important. These scores are similar to last year. By far the most important decision factor continues to be snow – people what to be reassured that they will have snow. Next comes the size of the ski area – they want to know that the destination offers them variety and then how busy the slopes will be followed by quality of the accommodation. Interestingly, how busy the slopes are has risen up in importance again. This sitting alongside another increase in helmet purchases reflecting consumers ranking of safety within their ski holiday. The top five remain consistent - You could consider these first five factors the ‘big five’ – they are what needs to be right. Below that we have other more peripheral elements of the destination such as whether it is traditional or purpose built, online reviews, après ski, non-ski activities and facilities for children.

11.6 Resort NPS Scores The table below ranks all resorts where we received 25 or more responses giving us an NPS rating. USA and Canada resorts top the list (Breckenridge [USA], Whistler and Sun Peaks [Canada] stay in the Top 5) but the best of the European resorts are not far behind with Geilo (Norway) and Lech (Austria) breaking in to the Top 10. Les Carroz (11th) is the top French resort and Zermatt (12th) the top Swiss. There is, as with airlines and tour operators, a wide range of scores. Resort Sample Size 2017 NPS Breckenridge 46 82.6 Sun Peaks 29 75.9 Banff 90 73.3 Park City 40 72.5 Whistler 264 69.7 Geilo 32 65.6 Vail 29 62.1 Lech 55 61.8 Selva & Ortisei 26 61.5 Saalbach & Hinterglemm 85 61.2 Les Carroz 25 60.0 Zermatt 96 59.4 Other (please specify) 39 59.0 Soldeu and El Tarter 135 58.5 Tignes 378 57.7 St Gervais 28 57.1 Val dIsere 286 55.9 Ischgl 71 53.5 Les Arcs 212 52.4 Wengen 46 52.2 Page | 79 Are 36 50.0 Trysil 63 49.2 © 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk Montgenevre 45 48.9 Corvara 37 48.6 Val Thorens 186 48.4 St Anton 185 48.1 Livigno 32 46.9

Zermatt Other (please specify) Soldeu and El Tarter Tignes St Gervais Val dIsere Ischgl Les Arcs Wengen Are Trysil Montgenevre Corvara Val Thorens St Anton Livigno Obergurgl & Hochgurgl Solden Val Gardena Meribel & Mottaret La Tania Les Gets Schladming Avoriaz Champoluc Other Mayrhofen Chatel Courchevel Zell am See & Kaprun Kitzbuhel Serre Chevalier Other Morzine Sestriere Flaine Arinsal Other (please specify) Niederau-Oberau Les Menuires Sauze dOulx Madonna di Campiglio La Plagne Cervinia Samoens Soll Alpe dHuez Canazei & Campitello Other (please specify) Pila Chamonix & Les Houches Verbier MegĂ¨ve Other (please specify) La Rosiere Saas Fee Courmayeur Borovets Pas de la Casa Les Deux Alpes Bansko Passo Tonale

96 39 135 378 28 286 71 212 46 36 63 45 37 186 185 32 103 29 25 188 124 106 35 80 26 223 133 54 152 105 66 80 68 240 60 95 62 122 31 127 118 36 311 80 53 39 141 26 176 38 183 66 28 115 68 28 40 44 65 160 68 32

59.4 59.0 58.5 57.7 57.1 55.9 53.5 52.4 52.2 50.0 49.2 48.9 48.6 48.4 48.1 46.9 45.6 44.8 44.0 43.6 43.5 43.4 42.9 42.5 42.3 41.7 41.4 40.7 40.1 40.0 39.4 38.8 38.2 37.1 36.7 35.8 35.5 35.2 32.3 31.5 31.4 30.6 28.9 28.8 28.3 28.2 27.0 26.9 26.7 26.3 25.1 24.2 21.4 20.9 17.6 14.3 12.5 11.4 10.8 7.5 -5.9 -25.0

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Resort Whistler Breckenridge Sun Peaks Val Gardena Val dIsere Banff Aspen Park City Saalbach & Hinterglemm Mayrhofen Meribel & Mottaret Obergurgl & Hochgurgl Madonna di Campiglio Livigno Val Thorens St Anton Soldeu and El Tarter Corvara Serre Chevalier Les Carroz Courchevel Wengen Ischgl Arinsal Lech Selva & Ortisei Geilo Zermatt Les Menuires Tignes Sainte Foy Arabba La Plagne Cervinia Soll Les Arcs Trysil Montgenevre Avoriaz La Tania Zell am See & Kaprun Kitzbuhel Verbier Chatel

2016 NPS 71.3 67.2 66.7 65.0 64.6 63.8 63.0 60.0 58.7 56.6 56.3 56.3 56.1 56.0 55.8 55.8 55.4 54.8 54.2 53.8 53.8 51.9 51.7 50.9 50.7 50.0 50.0 49.5 48.7 48.7 48.5 47.9 46.2 46.2 45.8 44.8 44.1 43.2 42.2 40.6 40.4 40.0 39.3 38.2

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Niederau-Oberau Pila Alpe dHuez La Thuile Les Gets Morzine Solden Pas de la Casa Canazei & Campitello Samoens Courmayeur Chamonix & Les Houches Champoluc Flaine Sauze dOulx Les Deux Alpes Bad Hofgastein La Rosiere Gressoney Davos Bansko Passo Tonale Borovets Sestriere

37.9 36.8 36.4 34.1 33.6 33.5 33.3 30.0 28.6 28.6 28.3 26.7 26.5 26.4 20.0 19.3 18.5 16.9 16.1 10.7 3.0 0.0 -3.6 -10.9

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APPENDIX

12. Appendix: How skiers rate countries Quality of skiing

23 13

-23

-25

NPS

Efficiency of lift system

19 14 6

-17 -30 NPS

Accommodation

27 23

21 12

5 1 -1

NPS

Eating Out

28 19

18 8

-4

-20

NPS

Bars and Nightlife

24 17

17 14

-6 NPS

Activities outside of skiing

30 17

-19 NPS

Ski School

75 67

68 60

NPS

Value for money 34

17 4

-4

-8

-9

-4

-6

-14 -23

-44 NPS

Social Media 66.30%

26.00%

24.90%

I don't use Facebook social media

Twitter

26.10%

Instagram

9.30%

11.00%

Snapchat

13.60%

Strava

Figure 80: Which of the following social media channels do you use regularly?

Facebook clearly the most popular form of social media (66.3%). 26% surprisingly high figure of non-users. As expected, snow and weather the number one searched for content/information on social media followed by resort information.

Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Purpose Snow/weather conditions Resort information Travel information Equipment advice Athletes

Figure 81: Rank in order of importance what snowsport information you look for on social media

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Brexit

No impact

My holiday(s) will cost the same or less

My holiday(s) will cost more

Not sure

15%

52% 31%

Figure 82: How has Brexit affected your holiday plans for the next 12 months?

Yes

Not sure 6%

28%

66%

Figure 83: Will Brexit make you more likely to book your holiday(s) outside the EU? Page | 89 ÂŠ 2017 Ski Club of Great Britain Limited. | +44 (0)20 8410 2000 | www.skiclub.co.uk

The Ski Club of Great Britain would like to thank the following partners for their involvement in the 2017 Consumer Research Report

ANTO, Atout France, BASI, British Ski & Snowboard, Decathlon, Erna Low, Flexiski, Glencoe Mountain Resort, Heaven Publicity, IfYouSki, Inspiring Learning/Rocket Ski, Interhome, Lagrange Holidays, Lockwoods, MadDogSki.com, Monarch Airlines, Mountain Heaven, Neilson, Salomon, Scott Sports, Ski Amis, Ski Famille, Ski Independence & Osprey Holidays, Skipedia, Ski Safari, Ski World, Snow Sport England, Snow Sport Scotland, Sno!Zone, The Snow Centre, Switzerland Tourism, Tirol, Wimbledon Clinics

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