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,...
And if that’s not the strangest headline you read today, you’re probably a fan of the National Enquirer! Seriously though, we know that sex sells, even in the ski industry. Tignes rely on it, and it’s also worked for Les Portes du Soleil and Mt Norquay in Canada. Penguins sell too! But it turns out...
Well informed social media and online marketing managers will know that Facebook has a number of restrictions on how you can run competitions. However, when we saw this post from Manchester United earlier today, we started to wonder if they matter: The rules… The current guidelines were written in 2009, and were designed to distance...
Skipedia is delighted to announce that as of 25 May 2012, we will be joining forces with Expedient Marketing & Public Relations. Expedient Co-Founder and MD, James Gambrill said: “We are delighted that Iain Martin from Skipedia has decided to join forces with us. Expedient already offers industry-leading marketing services, but Iain’s expertise in social...
Anecdotal evidence from UK ski tour operators is that this season has at last seen a halt in the decline in ski holidays sold. According to Crystal Holidays, the size of the UK market decreased by 25% from 1.2m holiday makers in 2007/08 to 0.9m in 2010/11. The Ski Club of Britain claimed a smaller...
Visitors to San Francisco’s Montgomery Street Station have recently been treated to a unique viewing of one of Utah’s scenic icons, Delicate Arch. It’s all part of the Utah Office of Tourism‘s USD2.2m ‘Utah Life Elevated‘ advertising campaign. Utah Tourism’s advertising agency, Salt Lake City-based Struck, unveiled a one-of-a-kind outdoor advertising effort that focuses on...
It wasn’t so long ago that Sunshine Village were the villains. After their epic social media fail in January 2011, there was a large amount of negativity attached to the brand. That certainly hasn’t all gone. The Support Ski Patrol wronged by Sunshine Village Facebook page is still active and has almost 8000 fans. However,...
