After two record-breaking seasons, the winter 2023/24 winter season brought a small dose of reality back to the Canadian ski industry. The season will be recorded as one that was negatively affected by a lack of abundant snowfall across Canada. Looking at the numbers, skier visits fell by 14.8% (to 17.9) from the record high of the previous season. The estimated number of Canadians who visited a ski area at least once also fell to 2.4 million or 5.8% of Canada’s population.
All is not a message of doom and gloom as Canadian skiers and snowboarders are resilient, passionate participants. One hundred percent (100%) of Canadian skiers and riders surveyed last year indicate a love for the sport and 97% of those skiers/riders intend to return to the slopes again this season according to Canadian Ski Council research. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) for ski areas across Canada grew to 65, up from 63 the year before.
Other bright spots include the increasing number of women and new Canadians skiing and snowboarding as the season gets into gear.
Five years ago, males accounted for just under 60% of skiers and snowboarders and women approximately 40%. In the 2023-24 season, the split was nearly 50-50. Last year, 16% of those who skied and snowboarded in Canada were visible minorities, a healthy 4% increase over the previous 10 years when new Canadian participants were stuck at 12%.
“Women, young girls and people of colour are a big part of the changing face of our industry,” says Canadian Ski Council President and CEO Paul Pinchbeck, who credits the desire to be outside and healthy, and resources offered by the Canadian Ski Council, primarily its Go Skiing Go Snowboarding initiative and its Never Ever Days program, which gives newbie skiers and boarders easy and inexpensive access to snow sports.
There’s also good news on the weather side. Many media outlets are forecasting a cold winter with plenty of snow, particularly in western Canada where ski resorts were up and running in early November of this year.
It is early in the 2024/25 season and there are many great days left for skiers and riders to enjoy the slopes. With a normal amount of snowfall, ski areas believe that returning to the high points of the last two years is very possible.
