Holidaysafe travel insurance agency out of the UK conducts surveys with their policyholders and has found some interesting statistics about their winter vacationers. The majority of their clientele are from Europe and generally book insurance for their European winter vacations, but after an inconsistent and fairly poor winter throughout the alps last season their numbers for worldwide travel have been boosted tremendously. Here are some of the raw numbers.
- 55% of participants would spend more on their winter break for guaranteed snow
- 41% would be deterred from taking winter vacations due to a high risk for lack of snow
- Worldwide travel for winter sports is up 21% in Europe since 2014
- 6% of the respondents claimed they were injured on the slopes last season
- The US and Canada are currently the favored winter sports destinations (for more on this please see USA Beats Out France As Most Popular Ski Destination)
These statistics are not all that surprising. Having such a large increase in worldwide travel goes hand-in-hand with the participants being willing to spend more to ski better snow. This year, nearly 48% of Holidaysafe’s policyholders are traveling worldwide for their holidays, which is a drastic increase compared to the 13/14 season when 73% were staying in Europe for vacation.
“With European snow fall down year-on-year, it is no wonder people are traveling further in search of natural snow fall.”
–Amber Howard, brand manager for Holidaysafe
Of the participants traveling to North America, the destinations of choice are split fairly evenly. 53% preferred locations such as Aspen and Vancouver while 47% chose Alpine resorts. The perception behind these numbers is that the people headed to Aspen or Vancouver are looking for guaranteed snow and mountain activities. These locations can supply top notch skiing, even if it will only be groomed runs on artificial snow, while still providing a mountain culture that offers a whole lot extra. The other half, who favor Alpine resorts, are gambling a bit and spending the extra money in search for stellar powder experiences.
In the end, we can only predict the weather to a certain accuracy and we must simply hope that everyone gets their fair share of snow or at the very least has an enjoyable experience in the mountains. With winter vacationers at an all time high, it’s going to be quite busy up in the hills.
I do one out west trip per year and I pay the premium of last minute airfare after seeing a weather forecast that I am confident about for the area I will be going to…. instead of nailing down a place and a timeframe months in advance, trying to save money, but having no idea what the conditions will be once I get there.