Sweden as a last resort for European skiing? An outbound market perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Previous work identified Northern Swedish skiing as a beneficiary from worsening climate change, with its relative improvement in snow reliability increasing its attractiveness over areas of the European Alps. This study advances the supply-side discussion of Northern Sweden as a ‘last resort’ with demand-side insights. It examines whether Europe’s major outbound ski market would adapt its destination choice due to climate change impacts on European skiing. A survey of 296 skiers was administered through the Ski Club of Great Britain. British ski tourists held negative perceptions of the price, accessibility, and quality/variety of ski terrain in Sweden. These concerns improved amongst those who had visited Sweden to ski, demonstrating familiarity with Swedish skiing may overcome barriers to substituting away from the European Alps. British ski tourists ranked snow conditions as the most important factor in their destination choice, thus snow reliability should form the basis of Swedish destination image moving forward. The majority of respondents (76%) opted for spatial substitution under poor snow conditions, ranking Sweden as the fifth most popular substitution destination, after four major Alpine ski nations, indicating that until climate reliable locations in the European Alps are exhausted, Sweden may not benefit substantially from climate change adaptation.