Asia Pacific’s First Snow Holiday Report
Survey reveals region is falling in love with snow holidays
Unveiled by Club Med, the report identifies key insights and influences that drive snow holidays across 11 markets, with 5,500 respondents from China to Australia. With the support of independent market research specialist, Insightzclub, the 2018 report for Asia Pacific maps out a diverse, sophisticated and affluent market of travellers who are becoming increasingly avid snow hunters.
The snow holiday market has seen rapid growth in Asia Pacific in the last three years, with an estimated universe of 238 million travellers, including 138 million alone in the last 12 months. The numbers correlate with the region’s growing affluence.
Not surprisingly, China is the largest market of snow enthusiasts, followed by India and Japan. However, markets with little or no snow, such as Hong Kong SAR, Singapore and Indonesia, are also showing strong growth albeit from a smaller base, as they seek more experience-based holidays, and the offer of fresh, clean air. While the average age of snow holiday-goers is 38 years old, countries with large millennial populations, such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia and India, have a younger average age of 34 years old. Japan has the oldest average age of 45, in line with its national demographic.
Snow holidays are traditionally maledominated, but some markets point to a stronger female base, with growing interest in outdoor snow adventures beyond skiing and snowboarding. Hong Kong SAR (57%), Singapore (56%), Malaysia (58%) and Australia (54%), for example, showed greater biases towards female snow holidaymakers. Japan (83%) and India (70%) had clear male strongholds.
With food at the heart of many Asian cultures, it is not a surprise to see that eating local delicacies (53%) tops the list, followed by spending time with family and friends (51%) and other fun mountain activities (50%), rounding off the top three. Local attractions (47%) and contact with nature (47%) are also popular considerations. Spa makes it into the top 10 activities for a wellrounded holiday, with resorts expected to be well-equipped with access to all the necessary facilities. Significantly, 29% of respondents also cited ‘doing nothing’ as a reason to go to a mountain destination, indicating a desire to just ‘get away from it all’ and enjoy their environment.
Nine out of 11 markets reported Japan as their top choice for a snow holiday in the region, resorts in South Korea were also attractive options, ranking second behind Hokkaido, while the nascent Chinese snow holiday scene came in a strong fourth. The surprise came from Switzerland, ranking third regionally and first amongst long-haul destinations.