Taking Australian Skiers Global
Co-written by: Aaron Corbett (Partnerships & Contracting Manager Luxury Escapes) & Rebecca Ellwood (Content Producer Luxury Escapes)
Would you forgo your annual sun-kissed escape for a skiing holiday?
That’s the quandary that time-poor yet curious potential ski travelers are faced with. With a limited holiday budget and annual leave to play with, it’s certainly a gamble to invest in a pricey escape where the temperature isn’t favourable and the risk of a potential injury is high. So how many people are actually brave enough to swap the pool with an après ski bar?
Travellers are increasingly looking for new experiences and adventures beyond paths well-trodden, with Insta-wanderlust a sure factor in modern-day travel and leisure purchasing decisions. However, the number of Australians skiing domestically is stagnating, with almost no growth over the last ten years despite a growing population and access to more lifts and better terrain than ever before.
The intention to ski is certainly there. Club Med recently commissioned a survey showing that Australians wanting to experience a ski holiday was strong with 67% hoping to go on a ski holiday in the future. Interestingly, out of those surveyed, a whopping 80% would prefer to go overseas rather than stay at a ski resort domestically.
People love to engage in new experiences together with loved ones and holidays abroad present the perfect opportunity to do so. Skiing is a time-intensive pastime (much like golf, which is experiencing a similar decline), so people are now looking for hobbies that are more accessible and less likely to eat into their limited free time.
Additionally, for travelers eager to experience a snow holiday for the first time, the booking process can seem daunting. If you’re not a regular skier who is ‘in the know’, how do you choose a resort is best for your needs? Australian ski wholesalers and travel agents do a great job assisting travelers who are actively looking to book a ski escape, but what about those who are ‘on the fence’ and need that extra nudge? 95% of Luxury Escapes customers had no intention of staying at the hotel they purchased and over 63% weren't even planning on going to the country they visited, so the potential for the ski market is huge.
Luxury Escapes is aiming to bridge that gap and inspire travelers who are potential skiers to go ahead and commit to that adventure of a lifetime, giving them an overwhelming opportunity to go ahead and purchase. We take amazing ski locations and hotels from around the world and bring them to the attention of more Australian travelers. By packaging the product in a way that provides good value for money, convivence, great imagery and video content, the customer can more easily picture themselves in the destination and click the 'book' button. These new skiers have generated incremental revenue for our hotel partners and ski resorts, increased occupancy levels, increased average length of stay, reached a new audience and helped to evolve their market mix.
From St Moritz in Switzerland to Whistler in Canada, the USA, Japan and beyond, we’ve already sent skiers on unforgettable adventures around the globe. And with Luxury Escapers going on an average of four escapes or more per year, time will tell whether these new ski enthusiasts will return year after year. Keep an eye on Luxury Escapes for unmissable ski escapes.
Learn how Luxury Escapes drove over 4,800 room nights in a Japanese ski resort unkown to Australians here.
