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Growing the Sport
AN UPDATE ON THE NSAA GROWTH COMMITTEE

Group Presents Goal & Metrics for Increasing Participation

BY KELLY PAWLAK, NSAA PRESIDENT/CEO

IF YOU ARE ALREADY losing sleep over your snowmaking Figure 1 Typical Industry Life Cycle
system, staffing challenges, and the weather, here’s another
one to ponder at 2 a.m. Growth. Transform
Extend the industry
As an industry we have all been working for decades the industry
to increase participation and secure future skiers and riders.
Industry
We have launched creative programs and talked about this Turnaround
issue until, quite frankly, we are tired of talking about it.
Frustrating to say the least . . . especially for a group of Demand Evolve the industry
people who are used to solving large problems and getting
things done. Despite its complexities, it is impossible to
ignore this industry elephant.
In March 2018, NSAA conducted a full membership
survey and 41 percent of ski areas responded. When asked
what NSAA should focus on, the top answer was growth.
This is not surprising, given the following: Introduction Growth Maturity Decline
• Skier days are flat and we have not hit 60 million visits
since 2011. Figure 2 Ski Industry Life Cycle
• The number of participants is declining and we have not
hit 10 million participants since 2011. We are also not Evolve Extend Transform
• Aerial lifts • Snowmaking What is the next
keeping up with our historical percentage of US popula-
• New ski areas • Shaped skis transformational
tion capture. Last season our participants represented 2.9 • Metal skis • Snowboarding product, service,
percent of US population and we have not hit 3 percent • Step-in bindings • Terrain parks or idea?
since 2014. • Interstate highways • High-speed lifts Or do we head
• We’ve seen a decline in share of visits for those aged 13 to • Grooming • Year-round activities into decline?
• Improved customer
machines
24. In 2004, 18 percent of visits were attributable to 13 to service
The longer
17 year olds and today they account for 13 percent. The we wait, the
same is true for 18 to 24 year olds, dropping from 12 to 9 harder and more
percent during the same period. expensive it will
be to transform.
• About 27 percent (17 percent 10 years ago) of our guests
have incomes of $200,000 or more compared to 5.8 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040
percent of US households.
• The US population continues to diversify but our A member of NSAA’s Board of Directors recently
customer base still lacks diversity. pointed out that our association has many committees but
• American youth are spending less time outdoors. not one that focuses on industry growth. Taking that cue, a
Growth Committee was formed and met for the first time in
As healthy as our industry is today, if you look at a typical May 2018. The committee is made up of 20 ski area and
industry life cycle, shown in figure 1, you can see that we are at supplier members. The first meeting was an “idea-dump” and
a critical point and now is the time to push hard for growth. it was quickly agreed that goals needed to be defined.
We, as an industry, have changed and evolved many Over the summer, a subcommittee met and worked with
times since the first ski areas opened. Growth and change is the marketing research and strategic analysis team at RRC
in our industry DNA as indicated by some of the examples Associates to model out some goals. Skier visits, percentage of
in figure 2. population, and even identifying how we identify a true “skier”

6 | NSAA JOURNAL | WINTER 2019