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WHO IS ASIAN?
A record 20 million Asian Americans trace their roots to more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the
Indian subcontinent, each with unique histories, cultures, languages, and other characteristics. Here are population
estimates from 2015 for the 19 largest Asian-origin groups in the US (based on self-described race or ethnicity). STOP SUFFERING WITH LOUSY LIGHTS!

CHINESE 4,948,000 JAPANESE 1,411,000 LAOTIANS 271,000 SRI LANKANS 60,000 With conventional metal halide and high pressure sodium lamps you’re replacing bulbs
INDIANS 3,982,000 PAKISTANIS 519,000 BANGLADESHIS 188,000 MALAYSIANS 30,000 and ballasts all the time. Maintenance can cost more than electricity! Snow-Bright™
FILIPINOS 3,899,000 CAMBODIANS 330,000 BURMESE 168,000 BHUTANESE 24,000
VIETNAMESE 1,980,000 HMONG 299,000 NEPALESE 140,000 MONGOLIANS 21,000 fixtures have a 100,000 hour lifecycle … more than half a century for most ski areas!
KOREANS 1,822,000 THAI 295,000 INDONESIANS 113,000

Source: Pew Research Center
Exceptional clarity for slope
lighting with 85% reduction in
are particularly attractive, such as Vancouver coupled with a trip gala or at the TIE [The Indus Entrepreneurs] Conference will operating electricity and 95%
to Whistler, or San Francisco coupled with Lake Tahoe. help bring us to the slopes.” drop in “in-rush” current. The
Sophisticated culinary options are also essential. “Good food Ironically, while Kuchinsky, Pang, and Kothari touch on a only lighting with the Snow-
is extremely important in any vacation,” Pang says. “That does relevant facet of Asian identity (and one that the Chinese gov- Bright™ spectrum that refracts
not mean that you have to have Asian food options, but rather ernment, in particular, is emphasizing), projecting a patrician through the snow surface so
that the quality of dining options is a big priority.” image of skiing/boarding seems contradictory with US ski areas’ you use less light and get better
Pang also says that regardless of affluence, most Asians attempts to make the sport more accessible to people from all visual acuity!
are drawn to the idea of getting a good deal. They are will- walks of life. This is where ski areas will want to strategize care-
ing to spend, but they respond very well to packages that fully when marketing to the different segments. Great for tubing parks and
offer value. Wayne Wong, a founding father of freestyle skiing, shares X-Country tracks where
Finally, if ski resorts are looking to attract travelers from his own perspectives on how to help Asians feel more comfort- lighting requirements are less
Asian countries, they should consider staffing their ski schools able at ski areas. Wong remembers when Whistler experienced a UPGRADE substantial, but safety and
with employees who can speak Mandarin, Korean, and Japanese, big boom in Asian visitation when the Chinese took over Hong enjoyment are essential. With
suggests Pang. “If the kids feel at home at ski school, that is Kong and many Hongkongers moved to Vancouver. “I was run- TO THE a color rendition index (CRI)
always a huge deciding factor about whether to return to a partic- ning the ski school at Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver. In exceeding .95, colors are sharp
ular ski resort,” she says. response to the influx, I started a Chinese-speaking program, ONLY and clear. Designed for the
A third Asian-consumer report comes from Manish Kothari, and I got my hires certified as ski instructors,” Wong says. That harshest winter conditions from
52, of California. A digital age entrepreneur, he’s also general decision to prioritize culture over technique made a huge dif- LIGHTING -40°F and 150mph winds!
manager at global education network Edmodo. When Kothari ference in helping Asians feel comfortable in the programs, and
was a teenager in Mumbai, India, an American supplier to his word spread that the ski area was Chinese-friendly. EXCLUSIVELY
father’s company suggested that Manish and his brother attend Wong has other great suggestions for how to bring more Won’t freeze over with snow
his Utah alma mater, Brigham Young University. He prob- Asian Americans to a ski area. “Involve the informal Asian DESIGNED and ice like LEDs which can
ably hoped the boys would become Mormons; instead, they ski clubs,” he advises. “They aren’t official organizations—the shut down night operations.
became skiers. members just text each other and say, ‘Let’s go skiing.’ Get in FOR SNOW LEDs don’t generate heat on
“Most Indians are not familiar with skiing or snow, but a touch with these groups. the surface to shed snow and
lot of youngsters from affluent families are interested,” Kothari “Oh, and one more thing,” he adds. “If you want to attract VENUES. ice. Some towns and cities have
says. “Many elite Indians go to Switzerland, so the US would be a Asians to your ski shop … stock smaller sizes.” been forced to replace new LEDs
with old type incandescent bulbs
and other cities are looking for new ‘active’ experiences—expe- I f anyone in the US ski industry has the ability to drill down because of this serious issue!
good change—if Trump allows.”
Kothari has advice for how ski resorts can connect to
Indians in America. “Indians in San Francisco, Silicon Valley,
into the nuances of ski area demographics, it’s Dave Belin
and the rest of the team at RRC Associates, a Boulder,
riences that include skiing,” he says. “I’ve seen more Indians on Colo., firm specializing in tourism and recreation market research.
the slopes at Tahoe in the last few years than the entire previous Belin, RRC’s director of consulting services, says that at last count
decade. How to attract us? Indians are always looking for a good (for the 2016-17 season), about 85 percent of the skier/boarder SOLVE THE
deal, so offering a special package and advertising it through population is white, down from 89 percent in 2008-09. And, the PROBLEM WITH
venues such as AIF.org’s [American India Foundation] annual largest segment of nonwhite skiers/riders are of Asian descent. VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT
WWW.ULTRATECHLIGHTING.COM
36 | NSAA JOURNAL | CONVENTION 2018
(201) 784-1233 | PO Box 566, Closter, NJ 07624-0566