Merger With Skioo Makes Skitude A Leading Digital Platform For Skiers

The merger of Skitude, the largest network of skiing apps, and the Skioo innovative skipass technology, which provides access to ski resorts with a single card and no waiting in line, aims to optimise sales channels for the more than 150 partnering ski resorts for the upcoming season.

Alongside may other advantages, the strategy will consist of using post-payment systems to facilitate the user’s skiing experience, streamlining their access to the slopes, and helping the ski resorts position their products on their online platform.

“We are working so that skiers can purchase a ski pass ahead of time and load the ticket on their RFID card, or validate beforehand using a credit card, easily from their mobile on”, explained Skitude CEO Marc Bigas. “These principles of convenience and post-payment are already well-known thanks to popular services like Uber”, he added.

As a result, Skitude Chairman Yngve Tvedt explains, the combined digital platform will add a new dimension to the ski industry with a digital journey that is simpler and fun.

Thus, Tvedt assures, Skitude is participating in the “digitalisation of the sector” and agrees with Marc Bigas that this experience will offer “more convenience to the skier” as well as “powerful solutions for the mobile sales channels and marketing services” that will help ski resorts stay better connected with the needs of their current and potential customers.

New challenges

The merger of the two companies is also aimed at finding a way to push back against the stagnation of users in the industry, one of the sector's main challenges. “We are setting off on a journey to meet challenges using technology”, the company’s CEO stated, adding that the experience built up by both Skitude and Skioo over the years will become “valuable information for ski resorts”.

It is worth noting that the Girona-based company has always been committed to interacting with users “before, during and after their visit”, which, according to Bigas, “strengthens the competitiveness of the industry and enables it to continue moving forward”.

A community of more than 1.3 million skiers

The Skitude community is currently made up of more than 1.3 million skiers who have used the free applications that are compatible with the Skitude platform, most of them being the official applications of ski resorts.

It is a very active community. Thanks to the GPS Tracker that can log their runs, users have already logged activity at more than 1,200 ski resorts in 45 countries worldwide, and have been able to participate in more than 250 Challenges allowing them to win ski days, equipment like skis, boots or action cameras, and exclusive discounts.

The operation will allow consolidating the international project of 50 people, with offices in Girona, Lausanne and Oslo, and to continue researching to find dynamic solutions and improve the customer experience at ski resorts.

The shareholders of the company are comprised of the entrepreneurial partners Marc Bigas and David Huerva, Spanish investment funds, as well as the three Norwegian funds that own Skioo: Investinor, Canica and Norselab. Norselab counts the Olympic alpine ski champion Aksel Lund Svindal as an investor.