The 18th edition of the International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism was unveiled today by Laurent Vanat during the opening conference of the Mountain Planet exhibition in Grenoble. This widely recognised benchmark publication provides a global overview of the 2024/25 ski season and analyses the evolution of the ski industry worldwide.
The season marks the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, a period that experienced an unexpected disruption with the Covid-19 pandemic, which severely affected tourism flows and caused global skier visits to drop by nearly 50% during the winter of 2020/21. At that time, a key question emerged: would the ski industry, often portrayed as vulnerable to climate change, be able to recover?
The data presented in this new edition provide a clear answer: yes. The ski industry has demonstrated strong resilience and has successfully regained its momentum.
Ski resorts have integrated climate change into their operational strategies. Being on the front line to observe its impacts, they have adapted their practices and investments accordingly. The figures show that, at this stage, climate change has not triggered the collapse of the industry often predicted by certain mainstream narratives. Skiers continue to visit ski resorts in large numbers.
With 399 million skier visits worldwide, the 2024/25 winter season becomes the strongest of the first quarter of the century, surpassing the previous record of 392 million recorded in 2018/19. After the interruption caused by the pandemic, the growth momentum observed over the past decade has clearly resumed.
Highlights of the 2024/25 season
In an increasingly challenging global environment, the 2024/25 winter season stands out for several key trends:
- Most countries recorded skier visits exceeding their pre-Covid five-year average;
- Several destinations achieved record visitation despite limited natural snow conditions;
- Visitation increased in all major regions compared with the previous season;
- Supply remained stable with no major changes in the number of lifts worldwide;
- The number of ski areas globally shows no downward trend;
- The season-pass model continues to influence demand but appears to have reached an inflection point in the United States;
- Window prices tend to increase faster than actual revenue per skier visit, resulting in decreasing yield;
- Two countries did not offer skiing during winter 2024/25 for economic and geopolitical reasons rather than climatic ones: Israel and South Africa.
Compared with the average of the five seasons preceding the pandemic, most markets have now fully recovered–and in many cases surpassed–their previous visitation levels. For the second consecutive year, China leads the ranking of countries performing above their historic pre-Covid five-year average. The United States, Italy and Russia also confirm the positive dynamics observed in recent seasons. Switzerland appears to be regaining strong momentum as well. By contrast, Japan and Germany remain the countries where a return to pre-pandemic visitation levels remains the most uncertain.
Attendance increasingly decoupled from snowfall
The 2024/25 winter also highlighted a growing structural trend: in many ski markets, visitation is becoming less directly linked to natural snow conditions.
Across several European destinations, snowfall was below average, particularly at mid-altitudes and during January. Nevertheless, visitation remained stable or increased in many markets. Extensive snowmaking coverage, efficient resort operations, strong holiday demand and generally favourable weather conditions helped maintain the attractiveness of ski destinations.
Switzerland recorded its best result in more than fifteen years, while Italy achieved a third consecutive positive season. France, Austria, Spain and Andorra also saw visitation increase despite challenging meteorological conditions. Northern Europe was one of the few regions more significantly affected by weather variability, as Nordic markets remain more dependent on natural snow.
In North America, snowfall remained below average in several areas but visitation levels were strong. In Asia, Japan experienced contrasting conditions between Honshu and Hokkaido, while the return of international visitors contributed to overall demand.
Overall, the 2024/25 winter illustrates the operational resilience of the ski industry. In many destinations, efficient management, reliable snowmaking and favourable weather conditions were sufficient to sustain high levels of visitation even with limited natural snow.
Coverage: There are currently 68 countries in the world that offer equipped outdoor ski areas covered with snow. Even if snowfields are much more numerous, about 2,000 ski resorts have been identified worldwide. Besides the major ski destinations in terms of skier visits, there are a number of other, smaller destinations, where skiing has been an industry for a long time, or is currently developing. The most obvious emerging destinations are Eastern Europe and China, but there are a number of other small players spread out across the globe: Cyprus, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Lesotho, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey and many more.