Industry News
Australians like snow? Yes, we do, and while Australian snowsport participation as a percentage of the total population sits at only 4%, we have some serious ‘snow nuts’ in this country. The vast majority of Australians who ski will also head overseas for the northern hemisphere season, we are that dedicated. But where do all these snow nuts hail from in Australia?
Snow Season Central used Google Search data to analyze more than 4,000 ski-related terms to reveal which Australian cities are snow-obsessed and other trends in Australian snowsports search behavior.
The results may surprise you — I hate to say it, Sydney, but Melbourne’s got you beat. Melbourne not only beat Sydney on a per capita base (11,438) but also in terms of total searches conducted in a month (563,780).
On a per capita basis, Canberra came in second, followed by Ballarat in third and Sydney in fourth. Ballarat’s positioning was impressive given it had a total of only 9,040 searches conducted which was 97% less than Sydney, which had 333,280 searches. Other state capitals didn’t fare too well, with Adelaide ranking 7th, Brisbane 10th, Hobart 11th, Darwin 17th and Perth 18th.
The relative proximity of Melbourne and Canberra to the snow fields versus Sydney could explain their high positioning in some part.
When looking at the total searches conducted by each city, naturally the capital cities were dominant, but Melbourne outshone Sydney with 563,780 total searches versus 333,280 for Sydney, which came in second, and only 77,180 for third placed Brisbane. The Australian capital Canberra came in fourth, with 51,860 total searches.
For its analysis, Snow Season Central used Google Data (Keyword Planner) for the full month of July 2023. A seed set of keywords was used to general a full list of 4,337 keywords covering a broad cross-section of snowsports relevant from ski resorts, brands, athletes and products. This keyword list and associates search volume was then segmented against each of the cities through targeting in the Google platform. The 20 cities’ population was sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, using the estimated resident population for 2022.
