Here’s an interesting little development for those of you getting amped up in the hopes that the upcoming Australia ski season proves to be a good’un.
The nation’s largest ski resort Perisher has been bought out by US skiing giant Vail. On paper, it seems a strange decision for the US company to be buying into the Australian market (reports indicate that Perisher was bought for the hefty sum of AU$178million) with Australia’s Snowy Mountains in the grip of fluctuating uncertainty of falls – an adverse effect of global warming – leading to increased reliance on artificial snow production.
However, Vail’s move is not so much about acquiring the assets of Australia’s most popular ski resort, as it is about getting a foothold in the market of those Australian skiers who travel abroad.
As part of the deal, people who purchase Perisher season passes will also be able to use them at Vail resorts throughout their home base of Colorado, meaning those who ski in Australia can then travel and ski in the US virtually free of charge.
The main reason for doing this is an increasing number of Australian skiers who are traveling to Japan for their holidays, largely due to shorter flight times and the Australian dollar weakening against the US greenback. It’s also to help channel Australian skiers into Colorado, rather than some of the more widely known North American options like Whistler near Vancouver in Western Canada.
Vail chairman Rob Katz stated, “In Australia, for somebody looking at Perisher and saying ‘should I buy a pass?’ on worries maybe the season won’t be that good this year, they now know they can also ski in the United States for free.“
Australian skiers represent a small and niche market, but one that is viewed as being highly desirable – international travellers tend to stay longer and spend more than local visitors, in information that should surprise absolutely no one.
Perisher, for its part, has seen its own seasonal snow levels vary from 384cm to a mere 7cm over the past five seasons.
Whilst the partnership is not expected to have a massive impact on the destinations in which Australian skiers travel to, it is expected to tempt other ski resorts – particularly those in Japan and New Zealand – into considering similar deals with neighbouring ski resorts in order to build networks of brand loyalty.
Photo: Chris McGrath via Getty Images.
via The Guardian.
