Skier demand and behavioural adaptation to climate change in the US Northeast

Abstract

Ski tourism has been identified as particularly vulnerable to climate change. Supply-side studies project shortened season length and increased snowmaking requirements, which may jeopardize revenues and increase operational costs. Demand-side impacts have received surprisingly little attention considering tourists can easily adapt their behaviour to climate variability by altering their destination (spatial substitution), frequency of participation (temporal substitution) and by changing leisure activities altogether (activity substitution). This study used a survey (n = 1167) to examine demand-side adaptation of skiers in the US Northeast to past climate conditions and hypothetical future scenarios. Findings suggest that demand is not likely to decrease proportionate to the projected decrease in supply, and future changes in participation may be similar to that seen during marginal snow seasons in the recent past. Thus, a geographical market shift (i.e. greater market share for the ski areas that remain operational) is anticipated under future climate change conditions – at least in the short term.

Pendant plusieurs années, le tourisme de ski a été identifié comme une industrie particulièrement vulnérable aux saisons raccourcies et les exigences accrues de fabrication de neige. Malgré plusieurs années de recherche sur les changements climatiques, peu de recherche ont examiné les liens entre le climat et les sports hivernaux. Donc nous connaissons très peu comment les skieurs s'adaptent et modifient leurs participations. Avec l'aide d'un sondage (n = 1167), nous examinons les adaptations des skieurs nord-est américains à des changements climatiques passés et hypothétiques. Les résultats suggèrent que l'avenir de la participation peut être remarquablement similaire à celle observée au cours des saisons de neige marginale récente. Ainsi, un déplacement du marché géographique (pour les domaines skiables qui restent opérationnels) est prévu – du moins dans le court terme.

Keywords:

• climate change
• tourism
• skiing
• behaviour
• adaptation
• substitution
• specialization

Mots-clés:

• changement climatique
• tourisme
• ski
• comportement
• adaptation
• substitution
• spécialization

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions that regional ski areas and local ski participants made to this research. In addition to the authors, Dr. Geoff McBoyle contributed significantly to this research and provided invaluable advice throughout the project. The comments of the anonymous reviewers were instrumental in adding value to the themes and ideas in our work and their helpful input is very much appreciated. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada is acknowledged for providing funding for the study.

Notes

1. The names of the participating ski areas are not identified as per confidentially agreements for the study.