Ski industry tries to reverse downward slide

Skiing as a sport has a long way to go before it reaches the top again swissinfo.ch

The Swiss ski industry has been racing against time to keep kids on the slopes, but is facing challenging obstacles on what has become a very slippery slope.

It’s bad enough to have climate change melt the snow beneath your feet, but it’s life threatening to have your pool of potential skiers drying up.

That isn’t to say skiing as a leisure activity is on its deathbed – just yet. But global warming and demographic trends are working against what was once known in Switzerland as “everybody’s sport”.

There are not only significantly fewer children in Switzerland today but also more retired people (see right-hand column). And sedentary lifestyles are becoming more fashionable. According to the Federal Health Office, more than one in four Swiss is now either overweight or obese.

“Kids today are not as fit as they used to be. For example, their parents drive them to school instead of making them walk,” Rolf Rüegsegger, president of the ski club in Thun, tells swissinfo.

Rüegsegger says this is one reason his club’s junior membership has fallen from 40 in the 1990s to a small handful today. What is surprising is Thun’s proximity to several ski areas – it lies on the northwestern edge of the Alps.

In a desperate attempt to rekindle interest among Swiss youth, the club is taking part in a pilot project launched by the national ski association to subsidise a day out on the slopes.

Subsidies

In January, more than 600 nine to 12-year-olds from Thun were outfitted with the latest gear, given the day off school, bussed to the Lenk ski area and provided with a day of instruction.

The total cost per child, including a hot lunch, was SFr16 ($15). A normal ski pass alone goes for twice as much, and the amount runs to well over SFr100 once the ski hire and lessons are added on.

The national ski association, Swiss Ski, initiated the idea in 2004 along with the main tourist authorities and the country’s ski lifts association as part of a larger campaign to promote skiing among Switzerland’s youth.

It was spurred on by the results of a study: the number of active skiers or snowboarders had dropped five per cent over the previous five years.

Not surprising really, since many small and low-lying ski areas that once benefitted from their closeness to population centres have rarely been able to run their lifts due to warmer winters. And skier numbers at larger, more expensive resorts at higher – snow secure – altitudes have been stagnating.

Cold wind

Hans Bigler of Swiss Ski says it is too early to say whether the ski days’ project, or publicity stunts such as building temporary snow parks in Swiss cities, will bear fruit.

He assumes that one-third of the Thun kids taking part are either beginners or have given up skiing, based on the fact they needed to hire equipment and signed up for the beginner course.

“My father works a lot at the weekend so we only go skiing when my parents have time,” says one girl from Thun, trying the sport for only the second time. “I don’t have to play outside when I don’t want to and sometimes I don’t want to because it’s too cold,” says another. “I stay at home most weekends,” adds a 12-year-old boy.

“It’s a question of cost,” says Ursula Wuethrich, the headmaster of the Thun school. “People would rather spend money on other things such as computers and clothes. Sport does not have the same status anymore.”

Worldwide campaign

But it is not only the Swiss who lack enthusiasm for the sport. The International Ski Federation, FIS, is preparing to launch a worldwide campaign later this year, “Bring Kids Back to the Snow”, to put a stop to declining interest.

Spokeswoman Riikka Rakic of the Swiss-based federation told swissinfo that many national associations around the world were faced with a similar problem.

Rakic said one reason for the decline across Europe was the decision by the educational authorities in many countries, including Switzerland, to drop skiing from the school curriculum.

Back on the slopes in Lenk, the 12-year-old says his friends “don’t ski much either”.

But he grinned when asked if he had changed his mind after a few runs down the hill: “I like to ski!”

swissinfo, Dale Bechtel in Lenk and Thun

Demographics

Ageing:

In 2006, there were 35 people under 19 years of age for every 100 of working age compared with 53 under-19-year-olds in 1970.
And there were 26 people over 64 years of age for every 100 of working age compared with 20 aged 64 or older in 1970.

(source: Federal Statistics Office)

Health:

Of Switzerland’s 7.5 million people, 2.2 million are either overweight or obese. The figure is growing by about 50,000 a year.

(source: Federal Health Office)

Swiss ski industry

There are 650 mountain transport and ski lift companies in Switzerland. They provide access to 12,000km of ski slopes.

With 11,000 employees, the companies are a key economic factor in mountain regions.

They have a combined annual turnover of approximately SFr840 million ($769 million).

(source: Swiss cableways association)