Call for ‘golden’ slopes for older skiers
Ski resorts should introduce dedicated ‘golden’ slopes for older and slower skiers to avoid people quitting the sport, said one of the bosses of Switzerland Tourism.
Urs Eberhard, executive vice-president of markets and MICE, told a gathering of ski industry heavy-weights in the Swiss resort of Davos this week that a recent survey had highlighted two worrying trends for the industry: skiers are getting older and are giving up earlier.
He said the survey, carried out in 2013, showed that one in five skiers who quit the sport did so because they no longer felt safe, which he blamed on more crowded slopes, new ‘carving’ skis that allow people to go faster, and the number of boarders.
Faster lifts get more people on to the slopes at the same time, creating bottlenecks at peak periods.
“Safety is a big issue,” said Eberhard. “To win back skiers we have to make them more comfortable and safe.”
Ski runs in European resorts are graded green, blue, red and black, with green being the easiest and black being the most tricky.
While a few resorts already have slow zones or speed restricted slopes – inlcuding Verbier, Zermatt and Grindlewald in Switzerland – they are not widespread.
Speaking at the second annual International Ski Travel Market, Eberhard called for resorts to introduce new ‘golden’ runs on the sunniest side of the mountains for older, leisure skiers who want to ski at their own pace and escape from those who want to speed down the slopes.
In the US, slopes are policed and dangerously fast skiers hauled off, but in Europe pistes are not patrolled in the same way.
“An alternative is to have dedicated slopes for those who want to enjoy the mountains,” added Eberhard.
“There is a big opportunity for us in the industry to cater for these people.”
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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