Ski Centre Research Articles

Satisfaction Analysis of Recreational Quality of Erciyes Mountain Ski Centre

Abstract In many countries, recreational tourism activities composed of winter tourism and sports that are performed in winter months constitute the majority of mountain tourism and sports. Individuals fond of winter sports prefer in their spare times known domestic or foreign ski resorts in order to rest and to have leisure. The most important preference determining factor here is the recreational quality of the facility. The results of the survey which is one-to one applied to the visitors between February-March 2017 aiming to determine recreational quality of the Erciyes Mountain Ski facilities constitute the research findings. The survey is prepared to determine the skiers’ demographic characteristics, ski experiences, snow sports exercised and recreational quality of the Erciyes Mountain Ski Resort. Erciyes Mountain, as an important source for winter sports due to possibilities it provides, is a candidate for being a winter tourism resort demanded accelerating day by day in regional, national and international scales and rapidly extending within this respect. As it is in all recreation areas, the primary goal of the management is a systematic and controlled tourism planning compatible to natural and social environment and is the provision of qualified rational experiences to its visitors. As a result of this research, service facilities (82 %) are determined as the highest satisfaction value of Erciyes kayak facilities. _________________________________________________________________________________ Erciyes Dagi Kayak Merkezi’nin Rekreasyonel Kalitesinin Memnuniyet Analizi Oz Dunyanin bircok ulkesinde dag turizmi ve sporlarinin buyuk bir bolumunu kis aylarinda gerceklestirilen kis turizmi ve sporlarindan olusan rekreasyonel turizm aktiviteleri olusturmaktadir. Kis sporlarina ilgi duyan bireyler dinlenmek, eglenmek icin ayirdiklari serbest zamanlarinda kis sporlari rekreasyonel aktivitelerini gerceklestirmek icin imkânlarina gore yurt ici veya yurt disinda bilinen kayak merkezlerini tercih etmektedirler. Kayak merkezlerinin tercih edilebilir olmasindaki en buyuk etken tesisin rekreasyonel kalitesidir. Erciyes Dagi Kayak Tesisleri’nin rekreasyon kalitesinin belirlenmesi icin hazirlanmis olan ve 2017 Subat-Mart aylari arasinda ziyaretcilere birebir uygulanmis olan anket sonuclari arastirma bulgularini olusturmaktadir. Anket, ziyaretcilerin demografik ozellikleri, kayak tecrubeleri, ugrastiklari kar sporlari ve Erciyes Dagi Kayak Merkezi’nin rekreasyon kalitesini belirlemeye yoneliktir. Kis sporlarina yonelik sundugu firsatlarla onemli bir rekreasyon kaynagi olan Erciyes Dagi, her gecen gun bolgesel, ulkesel ve uluslararasi olcekte daha fazla talep edilen ve bu baglamda hizla buyuyen bir kis turizmi merkezi olmaya adaydir. Tum rekreasyon alanlarinda oldugu gibi kayak merkezlerinde de yonetimin oncelikli hedefi, dogal ve sosyal cevre ile uyumlu olan sistemli ve kontrollu bir turizm planlamasi ile ziyaretcilere kaliteli rekreasyonel deneyimler saglanmasidir. Bu arastirmanin sonucunda Erciyes Kayak Tesisleri’nde ziyaretcilerin yuksek memnuniyet degerinin hizmet tesisleri (%81,80) oldugu tespit edilmistir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Erciyes Dagi Kayak Merkezi, rekreasyon alan planlamasi, rekreasyonel kalite, ziyaretci memnuniyeti, ziyaretci yonetimi

Retrospective analysis of injury trends in recreational skiers and snowboarders in Erciyes Ski Centre

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the important differences in overall rates and frequency of injury cases and injury characteristics between the recreational alpine skiers and snowboarders in Erciyes Ski Centre. Methods: The data for this research was obtained from the Erciyes Ski Centre Injury Surveillance System. A total of 834 injury cases that ski patrols registered injury cases caused by recreational alpine skiing and snowboarding during the 2002 to 2017 winter seasons were respectively examined. The injury cases were grouped according to the skiing disciplines. All data were analysed using SPSS software. Results: Injury cases were 690 skiers (82.7%) and 144 snowboarders (17.3%). 397 (57.5%) male and 293 (42.5%) female were skiers and 91 (63.2%) male and 53 (36.8%) female were snowboarders. There was no statistically significant difference between the gender ratios in skiers and snowboarders (p > .05). Data analysis indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the ratios of lower and upper extremity injuries between skiers and snowboarders ( p < .05 ). Skiers suffered more lower extremity injuries while snowboarders suffered more upper extremity injuries ( p < .05 ). Contusion was the most common injuries type in both skiers and snowboarders ( p < .05) . Conclusions: The lower extremity injuries in skiers and the upper extremity injuries in snowboarders were more common with respect to body location of injuries. For both the recreational activities, contusion was the most common injury type.

The Suitability of Snow and Meteorological Conditions of South-Central Slovakia for Ski Slope Operation at Low Elevation—A Case Study of the Košútka Ski Centre

In this study, the snow conditions of South-Central Slovakia (Inner Western Carpathians; temperate zone) were analyzed to assess the suitability for ski slope operations without snow production under 1000 m a.s.l. For the study site of the Košútka Ski Centre, meteorological conditions for snowmaking, snowpack characteristics, and snow water equivalent (SWE) compared with seasonal precipitation were identified. To identify the months suitable for snowmaking, the number of potential snowmaking days (PSD) and the required number of snowmaking days (RNSD) were calculated for six winter seasons from 2010–2011 to 2015–2016. The results showed that the conditions of natural snow cover were not appropriate for ski slope operation because of a low natural snow depth. For the Košútka Ski Centre, it was concluded that the essential base layer snowmaking for ski slope operation is possible only for a few days in the winter season because of the increasing mean value of the mean average daily temperature and the consequently higher occurrence of liquid precipitation in the winter season. Essential high snow production results in the heterogeneous distribution of snow on the ski slope, and in high snow depth, density, and SWE of the ski slope snowpack, and in prolonged melting.

Exploring the Impact of Tourism to the Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions

Sustainable development is difficult to be achieved in mountain regions because of their sensitivity to climate change. The rapid development of mountain tourism worldwide during the last years makes the goal for sustainable mountain tourism even more challenging. Key factor to the development of mountain tourism in Europe was the function of ski centres. According to the spirit of the Brundtland Report ski centres are not in general sustainable, because they may have economic benefits but they negatively affect the other two pillars of sustainability: environment and society. The present paper focuses on a ski resort in Greece, attempting to assess the impact of mountain tourism on the sustainable development of the area. Ski resorts played a crucial role to the bloom of mountain tourism in Greece. Its evolution is a relatively recent phenomenon which has been affected by the economic crisis that afflicts the country in the past years. Demographic data compared with tourism indicators were used to assess the environmental impact of tourism in the area. Moreover, meteorological data were used in order to examine the correlation of climatic conditions and the number of visitors. The results show that the ski centre in Elatohori despite the economic benefits has a major environmental impact, especially because of the increased carbon emissions caused by the visitors of the area. Additionally, the climatic conditions (precipitation and temperature, especially the absolute maximum air temperature) affect the number of visitors.

CAN A SMALL WINTER RESORT BE MANAGED AND MARKETED LIKE A LARGE ONE: A CASE OF BULGARIAN SKI RESORT BANSKO

Throughout the world today there are about 80 countries which practice various winter sports. Regardless of the wide geographical range demand in terms of existing infrastructure is highly concentrated in a few regions of the world. To be competitive ski resorts have to deliver good experiences and excellent value to tourists. Current community officials and destination managers of the Bulgarian ski resort of Bansko believe that the main weakness of this ski centre is the extensive waiting at the bottom gondola station and advocates expansion of the ski runs and lift capacity. The aim of the article is to research the strengths and weaknesses of the resort in regional and world context and to prove that further expansion will not forge a strong emotional connection with visitors and thus will not bring success in destination markets. The methodology used in this article follows three steps: 1) Literature review on the nature of the ski market in the world, as well as factors contributing to effective destination management; 2) International, national and regional data analysis of existing secondary data on winter sports market and 3) Qualitative study carried out with a purposive sample of key informants. The SWOT analysis based on the results of the qualitative study show that touristic shareholders in Bansko should apply an appropriate strategy for small winter resorts by offering a unique product that speaks to the world instead of trying to promote universal broad product for the mass market. Key word: destination, market, marketing, resort, strategy, tourism

The ski doctor

Ever wished your ski holiday didn’t have to end? Stephen Hillier, a ski doctor in Queenstown, New Zealand, talks about life in a ski field medical centre

Towards a methodology for comparing the effectiveness of different alpine ski waxes

The aim of this work is to develop a methodology for the glide testing of waxed skis at an indoor ski centre, using artificial snow. Two skiers, one acting as a control with unwaxed skis, undertook the test runs over a 50-m course. Timing gates allowed split times to be measured for a selection of waxes, as well as unwaxed skis. Five runs were conducted for each ski preparation, interlaced with control runs. Unwaxed skis produced similar run times to waxed skis for the complete course, with measurements showing their probable superiority over the first 10 m. A tentative interpretation involves the delay in forming a lubricating meltwater film under waxed skis by comparison with unwaxed skis. Recommendations are made for future measurements, including a longer course, close matching of skiers’ masses and ski sizes, all timing systems accurate to 0.001 s, a start 3 m above the first timing gate and more effective methods of wax removal.

Self-reported skill level and injury severity in skiers and snowboarders

There is evidence to suggest that the rate of injury is lower for expert skiers and snowboarders than for beginners. A better understanding of the relation between injury severity and skill level is also needed for planning injury prevention strategies. Our objective was to examine the severity and location of injuries sustained by self-reported expert and beginner skiers and snowboarders. A case-control study design was used. Injured skiers and snowboarders had to report their skill level on a 5 point scale (1: “beginner”; 5: “expert”). Two sets of severely injured cases were defined based on the type of injury and ambulance evacuation. Controls were those who did not sustain severe injuries. Logistic regression analyses were performed to relate injury severity to skill level. Subjects were 22 078 injured skiers and snowboarders who reported to the ski patrol with an injury sustained on the slopes of an alpine ski centre of the Canadian province of Québec during the seasons 2001–2002 to 2004–2005. Compared with beginners, experts had an increased risk of suffering from a severe injury (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.58–2.23). Expert snowboarders were also more likely to suffer from a severe injury or be evacuated by ambulance (AOR: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.02–1.38). Results suggest that the type of activities or manoeuvres performed by expert skiers and snowboarders may increase the risk of sustaining a severe injury compared with beginner participants.

Examining Leisure Constraints for Ski Centre Visitors: Implications for Services Marketing

ABSTRACT This study forms a determination research into the existence of constraint factors in the demand of ski centre services. After collecting 1,316 questionnaires from twelve ski centre destinations in Greece, the power efficiency of three important theoretical classifications (intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints) was explored through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Findings support two out of three theoretical constraint categories, namely, intrapersonal and structural constraints, while the validity of the final measurement tool was explored. Practical implications for services marketing are also discussed.

Skiing injuries in palandoken ski center: 156 cases

Aim: Skiing is an entertaining winter sport with its known risks. Although the injury rates are relatively low in this sport, they can be seen in 2 to 6 skiers per thousand. We report herein the skiing injuries occurred at Palandokens ski Centre during the last season. Methods: The patients admitted to our hospital due to injuries secondary to ski sport at the winter season of 2004-2005 were included in the study. Demographic, radiological and laboratory data, the mechanism and localization of the trauma, initial Glasgow Comma Score (GCS) and trauma scores were recorded. Results: A total of 156 patients injured during skiing admitted to the ER at 2004-2005 winter seasons were taken. A hundred and five patients were male and 51 were female and mean age was 29.3 (8-60). All traumatized patients had special gear for skiing, but only 28 patients used helmets. In 136 cases, the injury was secondary to falling whereas in 20 cases the reason was crashing. Isolated injuries occurred in 145 patients, and multiple injuries in 11. The injuries were mainly minor, and they were mostly at the extremities (109), followed by head and neck (15), thorax (8), abdomen (6) and urinary system (2) injuries. One-hundred and forty patients were managed at the emergency room (ER) ambulatory and 15 were hospitalized at different clinics with several diagnoses. Only one patient died due to traumatic intracerebral bleeding. Conclusion: In conclusion, injuries due to skiing are relatively rare and usually minor and not life-threatening. Traumas secondary to skiing consist of approximately 2 % of all traumas admitted to the ER yearly. Skiing is an entertaining and healthy sport if it is done appropriately. But the skiing individuals have to be informed about the risks of this sport. To make skiing safer it is essential to train the individuals.

Managing tourism investment opportunities under uncertainty: a real options approach

This paper provides an empirical example of the valuation of real options in a large-scale tourism project. The main aim of this article is to elaborate the investment decision process in the evaluation of a ski centre enlargement project by employing elements of the real options methodology. Monte Carlo simulation was used to value the options as it offers the flexibility to directly simulate the uncertainty factors. Traditional discount cash flow analysis points the investment as profitable, although the real options approach proves it as not economically feasible. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Winter Tourism, Development of Mountainous Areas and Visitors' Attitudes Towards Landscape Protection

ABSTRACT The main objective of this investigation is the evaluation of the demand for mountain tourism at the Pertouli ski-centre and in the surrounding communities of the municipality of Aethikes. The research shows that the contribution of the ski-centre's operation is of significant importance to the development of the surrounding mountainous area. In addition, an examination the factors which affect demand for the ski centre over a period of time reveals that this demand varies according to some factors (income, job), and is stable according to some other factors (skiing or visiting, distance). The visitors are willing to contribute to the landscape conservation by making cash donations and/or active participation in conservation projects.