Looking through a recent survey from Le Ski, I was struck by one stat in particular. While it was encouraging to read that the number of UK skiers and snowboarders is predicted to grow by 14% in winter 2023/24, the fact that only 13% stay in catered chalets highlighted how...
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is changing fast. A few years ago, it was just the name of one of Steven Spielberg’s less good movies, but in 2023 AI has moved from the world of ‘futurologists’ into the mainstream. The chances are that even if you haven’t tried ChatGPT (or Google’s ‘Bard’),...
Iain’s article ‘Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines‘ has now been published in ‘Ski+Board’ magazine. It’s also now available as a special episode of The Ski Podcast My first experience of working in the ski industry came 35 years ago when I went to Chatel...
Iain from Skipedia recently went ski touring in Morocco. Flying into Marrakech, and then travelling to Imlil (1740m), Iain then spent three nights at the Refuge des Mouflons (3207m), ski touring to different 4000m peaks. Ski hire was from Braemar Mountain Sports, guiding and logistics were organised by Toubkal Guide. You...
These are difficult days for the ESF in the UK. The current legal cases against Simon Butler and Le Ski have stirred up plenty of negative sentiment within the British market against the ESF. Both cases – which deal with different aspects of the law – are currently at different...
Okay, not strictly anything to do with marketing, but just for fun… So why do chalet girls bake a cake every day? As far as I know chalets have always left out a cake for their guests to tuck into for ‘afternoon tea’. After a long day on the slopes,...
TLDR: Google is giving advertisers less information on their campaigns as they want you to use AI instead. However, it will never understand the nuances and seasonality of the ski industry. History When I first used Google in 2001, it was a clean, user-friendly search engine with a ‘Do No Evil’ motto. It grew to...
Iain from Skipedia and The Ski Podcast was a guest in the Mountain Trade Network‘s latest online panel last week. The panel was one of a series of regular events organised by the Mountain Trade Network to keep the industry up to date with the latest thoughts and customer data. Our topic was ‘Never Waste...
Nordic France, the organisation that manages 130 sites in the country, has revealed some positive news from this ‘saison blanche’. From the start of December 2020, with the lifts closed for skiers, cross country skiing has experienced phenomenal growth. “Exceptional levels“ Participation numbers and revenues reached ‘exceptional levels’ during January and February 2021. Turnover has...
Last Sunday, Laurent Carret-Nouri was driving his navette on his usual route from Les Menuires to Val Thorens, when he spotted something cross the road just in front of him. “Magnifique!” “I’m used to seeing chamois, but it was the first time I’ve seen a wolf in 10 years of this job,” he told Le...
Can you ski at half term on a budget? Iain went to the French Pyrénées last February (just before lockdown 1.0) to find out. Iain stayed in Cauterets and skied there and at Grand Tourmalet. His article has now been published in Skier and Snowboarder Magazine and online on their website:
In January 2020, Iain travelled to Courchevel to find out about the preparations for the 2023 World Alpine Ski Championships, which are being hosted jointly with Méribel. Iain looked at the plans for the new ‘Eclipse’ downhill run and how UK billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is helping to fund improvements at the Club des Sports. His...
![[VIDEO] "Never Waste A Good Crisis" by MTN](https://www.skipedia.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MTN-290x157.png "[VIDEO] \"Never Waste A Good Crisis\" by MTN")
