An Exceptional Ski Season For Quebec’s Ski Resorts

Going down a snow-covered ski slope at the end of May, a challenge taken up at Sommet Saint-Sauveur during the Annual Congress of Quebec Ski Resorts, presented by Doppelmayr and Prinoth, which s concluded today at the Manoir Saint-Sauveur in the Laurentians. Bringing together more than 450 participants, a record for this event, the annual gathering allowed station managers to discuss the various industry issues. Innovative digital marketing, solutions related to workforce challenges and a sustainable approach to 2030 were among the topics on the program. 

2022-2023 season, eloquent results

Moreover, the preliminary results of the Economic and Financial Study of Quebec Ski Resorts, headed by Michel Archambault, Ph.D. consultant and professor emeritus in tourism at ESG UQAM, are unequivocal: skiing is once again on the rise in Quebec with the best season of the last 16 years. A total of 6.6 million ski-days were recorded, an increase of 5% compared to last year. The lifting of health measures has greatly contributed to the 14% increase in daily ticket sales, and nearly 350,000 season ticket holders confirm the season ticket record, a record pushed back for a third consecutive year 

Let us highlight a few regions that had the strongest increases in traffic: Chaudière-Appalaches (+ 16%), Outaouais (+ 16%), Laurentides (+ 11%) and finally Lanaudière (+ 10%). Note that the Laurentians exceed the threshold of 2 million visits, which consolidates their dominant position as a tourist region for skiers.

Visits during school break and spring skiing are up sharply. However, the start of the season and the holiday season are down, a concern shared by the entire ski industry, which wishes to modernize to secure and maximize these crucial periods for all tourist regions.

“Once winter got off to a good start in early January, skiers took full advantage of it. The fact remains that the sensitive holiday season, which has been steadily declining for several years, poses a major challenge for the industry, which must adapt to the global warming observed at the start of the season," explains Yves Juneau, President and CEO of Association of Quebec Ski Resorts.

Highlighting excellence in the ski industry

The Excellence Awards were given to industry players who have distinguished themselves at various levels in their environment. Several resorts and ski industry leaders were honored in the following categories:

• Societal involvement and influence in the community: Bromont, mountain of experiences, Eastern Townships
• Eco-responsible and sustainable ski resort: Parc du Mont-Bellevue, Eastern Townships
• Development of new skiers and or loyalty of a targeted clientele: Ski Saint-Bruno, Montérégie
• Risk management (100,000 ski-days and less): Mont Edouard, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
• Risk management (100,000 ski-days and more): Corporation Ski & Golf Mont-Orford, Eastern Townships
• Succession manager (100,000 ski-days and less): Mathieu Desmarais, Mont-Adstock recreational tourist resort
• Succession manager (100,000 ski-days and more): Jean-François Gour, Station Mont Tremblant

An industry first

The Pour l’amour du ski tribute prize, awarded in memory of Louis Dufour, builder of the ski industry, was awarded for the very first time to Mont Grands-Fonds. The Charlevoix family resort received this honor thanks to the results of the customer satisfaction survey, which awarded it the highest score in Quebec 

In addition, the evening was also an opportunity to highlight the performance of athletes who distinguished themselves last winter in sliding sports. Thus, Valérie Grenier, Laurence St-Germain and Élizabeth Hosking received a Provincial Pass in perpetuity to visit Quebec ski resorts because of their outstanding performance on the world stage.