JUST HOW BIG IS THE GROWTH CHALLENGE?
We know, most resort folks roll their eyes whenever Snowsports Industries America (SIA) talks about research and growing the market. But SIA’s current “Downhill Consumer Intelligence Project” (DCIP) just might provide real insights into the industry’s growth challenge.

DCIP is big. Really big. It aims to provide an in-depth understanding of alpine and snowboarding customers, current and future, and to help industry players develop strategies and tactics for growth initiatives. More than 20 different organizations are collaborating, including some in other industries—surf, golf, tennis, and skateboarding among them. “We’re all struggling with the same issue,” says SIA research director Kelly Davis: shrinking participation in outdoor sports.

Within winter sports, SIA is tapping resorts, retailers, reps, NSAA, and RRC, among others. “Even Vail is sharing data with us,” Davis says. As they should be.

SIA began by summarizing the industry’s existing research from the mid-’70s to present. A report on this discovery phase will be released in early September.

This has already revealed some juicy tidbits. Such as: a 1978 Glendenning study revealed the ski market was nearly 70 percent male, 30 percent female; 50 percent were married. Those data points led to a promotion to lure women to meet men on the slopes. And it worked: Women are now close to 45 percent of skiers.

The long-view research has also charted the changing image of snowboarding. What began as a counterculture sport in the ’80s went mainstream by the end of the ’90s. Snowboarding was at the forefront of that change, and participation exploded—the number of participants rose by about five times (from 1.3 million in 1995 to 7 million currently). As it went mainstream, Davis says, “You can see the dying of that [counterculture] marketing message,” because “Gen Y doesn’t buy it. The anti-authority thing, the tribal thing, is dead.”

Now, “we have to figure out what the snowboard brand means to future generations,” she says.

Perceptions of ski have changed over the years, too. Recent research shows more and more skiers identify as freeskiers than alpine skiers. Family and friends have taken a backseat to freedom, thrill and outdoor.

In upcoming phases, the DCIP will explore barriers to participation and how to overcome them. DCIP will identify what participants like about winter sports, and how to communicate that to potential newcomers. The goal is to formulate a strategic plan by mid 2015 and start implementing programs in early 2016.

ABOUT THAT TERRAIN PARK NOTEBOOK ...
The eagerly-awaited, long-discussed, and often-delayed update to the NSAA Terrain Park Notebook is once again said to be nearly complete. At press time, it was “in development.”

If that sounds familiar, it should: the NSAA planned to unveil the changes last summer.

Is the issue a lack of communication and direction from the top? Or, too many agendas and sometimes divergent interests to ever have agreement? Word is that it’s a bit of both and it depends on whom you talk to.

Clearly, this process has not been handled well. At the current rate of progress, the glacial but orderly work of the ASTM F27 group on terrain parks will conclude before the next version of the Notebook is released.

What NSAA IS touting is its new terrain park signage, which will be far less wordy and move from Smart Style to Get Smart. Iconography will play a key role, as the committee has finally acknowledged that 16-year-olds rarely stopped to read the previous signage and that perhaps pictures would have a bigger impact. Check it all out at terrainparksafety.org.

CANADA APES U.S. ON FOREIGN WORKERs
Taking a page from the U.S. political playbook, Canada is discouraging resorts from hiring temporary foreign workers in response to rising “hire Canadian” sentiment. Reports of abuse of the foreign worker program in the food service business turned public opinion against the program generally. In response, the Canadian government first instituted a C$275 processing fee, in July 2013, for processing each foreign worker visa application, then raised that to C$1,000 this summer. Resorts must also detail their plans for eliminating the need for temporary foreign workers in the future with each application.

Much as the limitations on H-2B and H-1B visas have curtailed hiring of foreign workers, especially ski instructors, in the U.S., the added cost and paperwork are discouraging Canadian resorts from hiring non-Canadians. Some Canadian resorts have been hiring foreign workers under a separate two-year “working holiday” program, which is not affected by the new rules, and more may follow suit.

ASPEN ADOPTS FITNESS TESTING
As part of its effort to reduce work-related injuries and boost wellness in general, the Aspen Skiing Company (ASC) is requiring about 1,500 ski instructors, lifties, and patrollers to pass a fitness test. VP of human resources Jim Laing says ASC required new hires in these departments last season to complete the Work Ready program. It seemed to work: New hires typically have the highest injury rate, he says, but last year, there was only one work-related injury among rookies.

ASC is offering employees ample opportunity to meet with fitness experts and prepare for the test, not to mention improve their fitness. Company-hired trainers will offer yoga, cardio classes, hiking outings and more to prepare employees for the test.

JAY PEAK BEGINS PAYBACK OF EB-5 FUNDS
Jay Peak, Vt., has been the poster child for the EB-5 visa program. The area has funded six major development projects through the program, and has begun to repay its investors—making it one of the first of the program’s 500 projects to reach this milestone.

The process has not gone as smoothly as it might. A year ago, Jay’s phase 1 EB-5 investors, having endured five or six years as limited partners in the Tram Haus as it was being built and its economic value established, asked the resort for an exit strategy. Jay settled on a repayment scheme, in effect dissolving the limited partnership and turning the investment into a 10-year loan. When investors complained the payback period was too long, the resort changed the terms and agreed to pay investors in full by 2018.

There was another glitch: Jay didn’t communicate the structural changes in the terms (from a limited partnership to a loan) to the Tram Haus investors for several months, an oversight CEO Bill Stenger now calls a mistake. The resort is still trying to reassure jumpy investors that the resort wasn’t trying to pull a fast one. Jay has been communicating with its other EB-5 investors to avoid a repeat of that.

None of the stumbles diminish the success of Jay’s expansion. All 550 investors in six separate projects will have permanent green cards. Many are now U.S. citizens. And the six projects have proven viable. All in all, “that’s a pretty good story,” Stenger said.

XANADU, THE AMERICAN DREAM
For the third or fourth time, developers are once again set to resume work on American Dream Meadowlands, née Xanadu, at the New Jersey Meadowlands. There’s a chance that the long-delayed $5 billion project, with its completed indoor skiing venue, which initially planned to open in 2006, could open as soon as 2016.

What makes it more likely this time around? First, Triple Five, which operates mega-malls in Edmonton, Alberta, and Minneapolis, has announced its plan to resume development. Gov. Chris Christie attended and spoke at the ceremony. Second, the N.Y. Giants and Jets, who had opposed (and stonewalled) development for years, are now on board. As are N.J. unions. That’s a strong group.

What makes us hesitate? First, the resumption was announced with great fanfare back in late April, and again in June. Yet, by early August, there were very few signs of activity.

POTHEADS IN SKIDOM
We noted in the recent past that Colorado was the only state in the U.S. to set a record for visitation during the 2013-14 season. It’s also the only state that was selling pot legally to anyone over 21. Coincidence? We think not.

Now, there’s some proof for that: a state analysis showed that tourists in Colorado ski towns bought 90 percent of the pot sold there. The study was commissioned by state marijuana regulators and conducted by the Marijuana Policy Group, a collaboration between private consultants and the University of Colorado-Boulder Business Research Division.

Destination resorts in Colorado, and CSCUSA itself, have taken pains to distance the resorts from the legalization of pot, lest the association eat into business. But it seems fears of lost visits were not what they were cracked up to be.