Smartphones and Skis: Digital Adoption Soaring Among Ski Travelers

Travelers who hit the road in order to hit the slopes are an attractive lot for travel marketers. Ski travelers generally have both the passion and the means to travel in pursuit of their favorite pastime. And more disposable dollars also translates into sky-high levels of digital adoption, making online and mobile channels key to targeting this high-income demographic.

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According to a new report from Phocuswright, nearly half of ski travelers (i.e., U.S. adult skiers who took at least one overnight ski trip in the past two years) earn a six-figure income. And many don't hesitate to invest in the latest mobile devices. Eight in 10 ski travelers own a smartphone, and more than half own a tablet computer. By comparison, about two thirds of U.S. travelers who plan their travel online own a smartphone, and just under a third own a tablet.

"Ski travelers tend to be heavy mobile users, and they increasingly expect to be able to search, shop and book ski travel – as well as their lift tickets – via their mobile device," said Douglas Quinby, vice president, research at Phocuswright. "To reach and influence these higher-spending travelers, the ski and travel industries must be prepared to fully leverage the potential of mobile media."

Despite the substantial influence of mobile channels, websites via computer remain the leading source of information for ski trip shopping, with seven in 10 ski trips planned using this channel.

Phocuswright's U.S. Skier and Ski Traveler Study provides a comprehensive view of U.S. skiers and ski travelers, including insight into ski travel decisions, information sources, the role of mobile devices and tablets, and much more. Based on an online survey of more than 1,600 U.S. adult skiers, the report highlights key factors that drove ski travel decisions in 2012 and reveals fundamental indicators for understanding trends in 2013.

Key topics include:

• General ski traveler behavior, including incidence of travel, trip frequency and duration and travel spend.
• Travel component purchase incidence, with detailed analysis of air and lodging spend, and types of accommodations used.
• Comparison of key U.S. skier segments, including day skiers, ski travelers and snowboarders, as well as regional differences between East and West residents.
• Websites used in various stages of online travel planning – destination selection, shopping, purchasing and sharing. For example, lift tickets booked online are most likely to be booked through a resort website (57 percent).
• Ski trip motivation and information sources used in destination research.
• Traveler shopping behavior, including types of websites used, online and offline sources of information, and online features used during travel shopping. Interestingly, nearly half of all lift tickets are now booked through online and mobile channels compared to 36 percent at resort ticket offices.
• Ski travelers' use of social media and mobile during the search phase through trip completion (one-third of skiers surveyed said they plan to purchase lift tickets from their smartphones).

Purchase Phocuswright's U.S. Skier and Ski Traveler Study to understand and effectively target travelers in the high-spend ski segment. (Report purchasers receive free registration to the October 10 webinar.)