And The Survey Says…

Every season, another report emerges claiming to be the latest reflection on the state of the ski market.

Survey companies generally calculate their findings using this basic formula: Number of respondents who gave a specific answer ×100. So, if 300 out of 1,000 people who took part answered in a particular way, the percentage would be 30%, which is then extrapolated across the size of the whole market.

As a cynical journalist, I always take these polls and surveys with a pinch of salt, as this is only my opinion, which is not based on anything scientific – the number of those taking part in the surveys is always fairly small compared to the size of the market. Plus, other factors are not taken into consideration.

For example, quite a few years ago, a major tour operator held a press conference to release their latest findings. During the Q&A that followed, I asked how they had calculated the number of skiers and snowboarders who had organised their own independent travel and accommodation, usually booking ferries or the tunnel and driving down to the Alps in a vehicle full of people.

The tour operator eventually admitted they had plucked a guesstimate out of the air because they had no way of accurately measuring this type of holiday booking.

On another occasion, a survey commissioned by a UK ski company claimed there were approximately six million skiers and snowboarders in Britain, roughly five million more than most estimates from the UK snowsport industry.

It transpired that one of the questions posed by the survey company was along the lines of ‘Are you, or have you ever been, a skier or snowboarder?’ This is like asking me if I am a footballer. I played football for many, many years, but am way past it now, but if this question were put to me, the results would add me to the number of footballers in the UK.

However, I realise the industry has to start somewhere. Here are some extracts from the latest State of the Market survey 2025 conducted by The Mountain Trade Network, the new organisers of the London Snow Show. You can make up your own minds regarding the findings.

The research was conducted in partnership with the Ski Club of Great Britain and Snow + Rock and claims to make comparisons from over the past three years to highlight trends.

The State of the Market annual survey suggests that the overall individual numbers of British people skiing and snowboarding last winter compared to the two previous winter seasons is slightly down, more people are taking multiple holidays with 34% taking two trips (up from 25% in 2023) and 9% taking four or more trips (compared with 5% in 2023). This is likely to mean that more trips have been taken during the 2024-25 winter since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

There has been a significant rise in early bookings, with 41% of respondents saying they have booked their skiing holiday more than six months before travel (up from 32% in 2023).

France is still the number one choice for 59% of British skiers, with Austria, Italy and Switzerland remaining in second, third and fourth, respectively.

Catered chalets, run by tour operators, have seen somewhat of a recovery with 16% of respondents saying they aim to choose that form of holiday in the 2025 season, compared to only 9% in 2023. Three-star hotels are the most popular choice (32%), and four-and five-star hotels have lost ground.

Tour operators have re-gained some of the market over the past year, seeing 51% of overall bookings compared to those who book independently – only 43% of skiers booked with a tour operator during the season before.

18% have said they chose to go skiing alone (compared to 13% in 2023), and this number has been steadily rising, possibly due to the impact of rising costs making it difficult for families to commit to a skiing holiday, although it is still the largest cohort at 60% of the market (but down from 68% in 2023).

The size of the ski area, price and resort altitude are the largest drivers for UK skiers when choosing where to go skiing, but off-piste skiing options are a growing factor as well as being able to avoid more crowded slopes.

Resort websites are still the number one place where skiers look for inspiration, information, and advice (66%), but magazines have seen the largest growth (34% compared to 24% in 2023). Instagram is now the largest social media platform for skiers, with 25% of respondents saying they use it, although in the 18 to 35 age bracket, this goes up to 58%, the second largest source of information for them after resort websites (75%).

There’s a rise in AI search too, with 4% of respondents saying they use it for research (compared to 0% in 2023), and in the 18-35 age group, that goes up to 17%, although it’s worth referencing the fact it’s likely people don’t consider Google as AI in this case.

Japan is everyone’s dream skiing destination, with 37% of skiers saying it’s the place they would love to travel to (it’s 57% in the 18-35 age category).

25% of respondents have said they have already booked at least one trip for next season, consistent with the data over the past three years.

For more information on the destination countries that have come out as the most popular in this survey, and the holidays and accommodation available through Ski Line, click on the resort names below:

France

Austria

Italy

Switzerland