Demand patterns in mature winter travel markets - The case of the Swiss alpine touirst
Journal
Revue de Géographie Alpine
ISSN
0035-1121
ISSN-Digital
1760-7426
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2004
Author(s)
Abstract (De)
This paper contributes to the study of consumer behaviour in alpine tourism in winter. Based on comprehensive and extensive data, a descriptive quantitative overview of a mature market by example of the Swiss market is given and implications for future developments are drawn. The outcomes of the study in combination with former research in this field reveal that the degree of execution of numerous sports activities is decreasing while the variety of all activities is increasing. However, while a winter holiday implies numerous sports activities, thus resulting in a fragmented market, a winter day trip is very much focused on a small number of activities. Other than inter-nationally proposed, the notion of skiing demand being allocated internationally can be rejected in this case, mainly due to the proximity of alpine areas to the market observed. Consequently, ski resorts have to option-maximise their infrastructure and services when aiming at the holiday market but focus on winter key activities especially when attracting day trips market. With regard to attracting and retaining customers, cooperation between holiday resorts and daytrip resorts rather than among holiday resorts is recommended.
Language
German
Keywords
Winter sports
Switzerland
consumer behaviour
resort development
market size
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Institut de Géographie Alpine
Publisher place
Grenoble
Volume
92
Number
4
Start page
33
End page
48
Pages
16
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
13886