Thoughts on Snowsports

Iain Martin, The Ski Podcast

The sad demise of the catered chalet ski holiday
Ideas / Tour Operators

The sad demise of the catered chalet ski holiday

by iain on Sep 25, 2023 • 8 Comments
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...
Will ChatGPT make ‘ski experts’ redundant?  
Ideas

Will ChatGPT make ‘ski experts’ redundant?  

by iain on May 11, 2023 • No Comments
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’),...
'Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines' - article in 'Ski+Board' magazine
Iain / Ideas / Tour Operators

‘Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines’ – article in ‘Ski+Board’ magazine

by iain on Mar 8, 2023 • 3 Comments
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...
Ski Touring in Morocco: A Photo Essay
Iain / Resorts

Ski Touring in Morocco: A Photo Essay

by iain on Feb 8, 2019 • No Comments
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...
'I'm a modern-day Batman' says anti-ESF campaigner
Resorts / Tour Operators

‘I’m a modern-day Batman’ says anti-ESF campaigner

by iain on Nov 2, 2014 • No Comments
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...
Why do chalet girls bake a cake every day?
Tour Operators

Why do chalet girls bake a cake every day?

by iain on Aug 13, 2011 • 2 Comments
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,...
Latest entries
The Inevitable Rise of Virtual Reality in Travel
Ideas

The Inevitable Rise of Virtual Reality in Travel

by iain on Feb 27, 2015 • No Comments
The forum at the Travel Technology Show at London Olympia this week included some fascinating insights into the future of travel. Virtual Reality is here While the chat about drones and big data were interesting, Anthony Ganjou’s presentation on Virtual Reality was mind-blowing – as was his demonstration of the Samsung Gear VR device. Ganjou...
Five Nuggets of Snowsports Marketing We Noticed This Week
Marketing / Resorts

Five Nuggets of Snowsports Marketing We Noticed This Week

by iain on Feb 20, 2015 • No Comments
We find them so you don’t have to.  Here are five nuggets of snowsports marketing we’ve seen recently… 1. Why Serre Chevalier should make shorter videos This cute video was published by Serre Chevalier this week. It starts with a spoof of Serre Che employees mucking around: pisteurs dynamite a snowman; snow groomers race each...
If Nigel Farage owned a Landrover...this would be the numberplate
Ideas

If Nigel Farage owned a Landrover…this would be the numberplate

by iain on Feb 20, 2015 • No Comments
Following on from our blog post ‘The Best Personalised Numberplates in the Alps‘, we wondered if this one could be owned by Nigel Farage?   And on the off-chance this doesn’t make any sense to you, try this link…     Article by Iain Martin
Is 'Force Majeure' - a movie set in Les Arcs - worth watching?
Ideas / Resorts

Is ‘Force Majeure’ – a movie set in Les Arcs – worth watching?

by iain on Feb 16, 2015 • No Comments
Force Majeure is a new Swedish/French movie not yet released in the UK, but which has already won the Jury prize at Cannes and been nominated for a Golden Globe as ‘Best Foreign Language Film’. What’s the story? The plot revolves around an avalanche ‘near-miss’ near the start of the film.  The family of four...
'Bite the bullet, pay the fine and take your children on a ski holiday...'
Ideas

‘Bite the bullet, pay the fine and take your children on a ski holiday…’

by iain on Feb 13, 2015 • No Comments
We read with interest Henry Druce’s recent post on the Telegraph: ‘Why ski holidays are worth skipping school for’. Is skiing destined to be ‘the preserve of the rich’? Henry’s key point – that a skiing holiday is a great experience for children – is absolutely true, but is he right that skiing is destined...

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The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. Please feel free to support or disagree with me in the comments section of each blog entry.