Ski Club Consumer Research September Intentions Survey

86% of skiers still intend to go skiing this season 

The Ski Club of Great Britain sent a pulse survey week commencing 21st September to get a sense of people’s intentions for this year’s ski season, which was completed by over 2,000 people. The survey aimed to see how consumers will be booking holidays this season based on likelihood, timings, location, accommodation, and type of bookings.  

The Ski Club conducted a similar and more in-depth analysis in the summer, which can be found here. This pulse survey aimed to get a more up to date impression of how people will travel this winter. 

The latest survey showed that 86% of skiers still intend to go skiing this season with a quarter having already booked their holiday. There has been a slight decrease in people wanting to ski with 96% stating they would want to ski in the June Ski Club survey.  

Despite this positive intention by most skiers, in reality, only 29% of skiers are confident they will be able to ski at all this season. This is mainly due to the latest government restrictions and travel advice. 79% of respondents said that the government’s travel corridor/quarantine policy isn’t fit for purpose.  

Over half (57%) want to book within a month of travel (vs the 10% recorded having booked within a month of traveling last season). This indicated a huge rise in late booking intentions for the upcoming season.   

According to the June survey, 86% of skiers travelled by plane last season. The latest survey shows that number will most likely drop with only 59% planning to fly. Other modes of transport showed 27% plan to drive using the Eurotunnel (being only 7% last season) and 8% by ferry (only 3% last season). 

There was a slight drop in people intending to stay in hotels, 38% said they would book a hotel this season compared to the 43% who booked a hotel last season. Other accommodation results showed that 25% will book an apartment this winter (up from 19% last season) indicating this increase taking a share from both hotel and chalet bookings. 19% have indicated booking a chalet (down from 25% last season).  

Very interestingly, 59% of skiers are still planning to book independently this season (not changing drastically from the 61% last season), whilst 38% stated they will continue to book a package holiday this season. These numbers have pretty much stayed the same, even though some independent bookers said they were likely to switch back in June.  

Lastly, 39% of bookers plan to travel as a family (vs. 37% last season), 28% with friends and 19% couples. 

Both SPIKE Insight and Ski Club presented the full findings of this survey with the comparisons from June. Wild Dog have produced an easy-to-read PDF document outlining the key figures and findings from the survey.  

Wild Dog Infographic

The Ski Club will be conducting another pulse survey towards the beginning of the winter season to capture the most up-to-date data on winter travel this season. This will capture any new reactions to further government restrictions and will be shared with you accordingly.