Market Trends of Winter Sports Equipment Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Winter Sports Equipment Market according to our research experts:
Increasing Number of Ski Resorts
The winter sports industry is largely dependent on the snow/winter season, where participation appears to have leveled off or is maintaining slight growth in the matured markets, such as France and Austria, mainland Europe, and the United States. However, there is an increasing interest among citizens of countries, such as Russia and China. For instance, in February 2022, the General Administration of Sport of China disclosed in its press release that by the beginning of 2021, China has built 803 indoor and outdoor ski resorts and 654 standard ice rinks in response to growing consumer interest in snow sports.
Further, Austria and France have more than 10 resorts that welcome over 1 million skier visits per season. The size of resorts has also changed since consumers' interest in covering more distance and area in a day has witnessed massive growth. On the other hand, the increase in the inflow of tourists has led to a surging demand among people to opt for ski equipment, thereby pivoting sales.
North America Holds the Largest Share
The prominence of sports activities, owing to health and wellness trends, the increasing influence of social media, celebrity endorsements, and the rise in international sports events encourage people to engage in sports activities including ice hockey and skiing. In the United States, ice hockey is very popular in the northeastern and upper Midwest regions. The NHL is a major professional hockey league in North America. It has around 24 US-based teams and 7 Canada-based teams. In addition to these professional players, a large number of players in the region are registered members of the federation. Globally, Canada and the United States account for the largest number of registered ice hockey players.
Skiing has evolved into a booming recreation industry over the past century, owing to the partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and privately owned ski resorts. Also, every year about millions of visitors ski and snowboard down the snowy slopes of the ski resorts spread across the White River National Forest, and at ski resorts in forests across the nation. Furthermore, developments by the ski associations in the country to support skiing sports have propelled the market growth.
