15th Expert Discussion Of The Ski Amade Academy Asks "Is Coronavirus Changing Alpine Tourists / Tourism?"
With the question “Is Corona changing alpine tourists / tourism?”, The Ski amadé Academy invited to the 15th expert discussion in the St. Johann Culture and Congress Center. The lecturing experts Holger Sicking from Tourism Research & Data Analytics at Österreich Werbung and business psychologist Marcel Beaufils from the Rheingold Institute will present their answers to this question.
Around 100 business people and tourism professionals from the Ski amadé region gained insights on October 7th to what extent the pandemic is affecting alpine tourists / tourism. Dr. Christoph Eisinger, Managing Director of Ski amadé, is pleased about the numerous guests and initiates the event: “Last year, the pandemic had a significant impact on the economy and, above all, on the tourism industry and thus poses new challenges for us . We have to ask ourselves the question of these new requirements. "
Based on experience from the past winter and summer, Holger Sicking presents an outlook on the market potential for the coming season.
As has become apparent from the past year and a half of the pandemic, a major demand factor is the attitude of holidaymakers towards possible travel barriers and general conditions on site in the destination. In the past, the issue of security, flexible booking criteria and the Covid situation in the destination were important decision-making criteria. The issue of flexibility in booking conditions will remain an important criterion for the coming winter holiday.
As part of a study by the Rheingold Market Research Institute in Cologne, the participating test subjects were asked about their feelings and associations with winter sports in two-hour intensive interviews. From this study, Marcel Beaufils, Senior Research Consultant of the Rheingold Institute, was able to present the following findings at the Ski amadé expert talk: Especially in today's overwrought and troubled society, the winter sports / outdoor experience offers people a temporary exit into an original world in which they are experience nature without a digital filter. Snow sets everyday life back to zero and, according to Beaufils, is a psychological reset at a high level.
The Corona factor is also accelerating. Because Corona limits people and prevents them from completely carefree and self-determined to shape everyday life. Corona is an invisible enemy that is difficult to defend against. In the search for freedom and intense experiences, winter sports offer a unique solution and reinforce the already great longing for self-determined freedom without overly complex rules and cultural demands.
The “magic of snow”, as Beaufils calls it, is one of the psychological explanations for the consistently high demand in winter sports. The focus is on the combination of the feeling of freedom and simultaneous control. Skiing makes this feeling possible. In addition to skiing, multi-optional experiences are also of great importance, especially for Generation Z. Beaufils explains that not only one experience is relevant, but a variety of offers and possibilities in a destination will become more important in the future.
The two experts confirm what the audience had hoped: The need for alpine winter sports is still unbroken. The associations with a ski holiday remain consistently positive, as it represents the definition of relaxation and reset in a time of many restrictions.
However, there are also changes compared to previous winters that tourism professionals, mountain railways and companies have to be prepared for not only in the short but also in the medium term: The guests are more spontaneous when booking, expect the most flexible offers possible and at least subliminally want the feeling of Getting security conveyed. In addition, they are looking for the experience factor and diverse offers that are accessible at short notice and as unrestrictedly as possible.
This concludes a successful and exciting 15th Ski amadé expert talk.
