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,...
We have noted before on Skipedia how sex sells, even in the snowports industry. Sex sells snow too… From the good old days of adverts for cigarettes to Oslo Vinterpark’s cheeky approach to marketing, sex has been a regular theme. But no one has outdone Tignes with their impressive and audacious sexy campaigns, a brief example...
These days all brands need to have a presence on social media. In many cases, it’s also sensible to maintain an identity on influential forums, such as Snowheads. The fine line between contributing and spamming However, if ever proof was needed that there is a fine line between contributing and simply spamming, take a look...
According to a new SIGB survey, UK snowsports retailers have seen an upturn in business in the lead in to Christmas. The survey was conducted in December, with the results coming from 41 responses. of which 17 of those were retailers. Although this is a relatively limited sample the results are positive to read. 65%...
If you were thinking about getting yourself a new smartwatch, such as the Samsung Gear then this is the advert for you! For the uninitiated, the Samsung Gear was released earlier this year and is one of the first ‘wearables‘ on the market. Google Glass is the most well known of this new style of...
There will be few readers of Skipedia unaware of the ongoing saga between the French authorities and British ski tour operators offering ‘ski hosting’ [for the uninitiated, try the following articles]. With the next stage in the appeal process not due until May 2014, ski hosting will not be offered this winter season. Crystal Holidays...
We recently came across an excellent research document – ‘Bilan de la saison des domaines skiables suisses – Hiver 2012/13‘ . It was created by Laurent Vanat, who was also responsible for the ‘2013 International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism‘. Most visited Swiss ski resorts The report is packed full of data. This graph was...
