The 2024-25 season saw a record 399 million global skier visits, a 7.8% increase from the previous year. While this growth was widespread, the report highlights that the Alpine countries—Austria, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, and Switzerland—collectively account for 14% of the world’s estimated 150 million skiers. This places the Alpine region, including Switzerland, as a key pillar of the global ski market, alongside Western Europe (20%), the Americas (20%), and Asia-Pacific (33%).
Notably, the 2024-25 season saw strong demand despite below-average snow in parts of Europe, with snowmaking and operations helping to maintain visitation levels. While countries like the U.S., Italy, and Russia exceeded pre-Covid averages, the report notes that Japan and Germany have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. China once again leads the ranking of countries performing above their historic pre-Covid five-year average.
The leading ski nations are:
1 United States — 61.6 million (+1.8%)
2 France — 54.8 million (+5.6%)
3 Austria — 51.9 million (+3.6%)
4 Italy — 34.8 million (+8.8%)
5 Japan — 28.2 million (+15.6%)
6 Switzerland — 26.3 million (+13.7%)
7 China — 26.1 million (+13.0%)
8 Canada — 19.8 million (+13.1%)
9 Sweden — 10.2 million (-2.9%)
The findings were released at the Mountain Planet trade show in Grenoble, France in the The International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism 2024/5.