Has Skiing Bounced Back From COVID? Global Skier Visit Numbers Suggest So
The 18th edition of business strategist Laurent Vanat's International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism, which includes a global review of the prior (2024/25) season, was released on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.
Unveiled at the opening conference of the Mountain Planet exhibition in Grenoble, the report provides an in-depth look at the evolution and health of the ski industry worldwide. Vanat has published the International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism since 2009, which is regularly used and referenced by major industry events and organizations.
The 2024/25 season marks the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. Notably, this period was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to significant shifts in tourism, outdoor recreation participation, and the outdoor industry. As the pandemic raged during the winter of 2020/21, global skier visits dropped by almost 50%, prompting questions about the ski industry's vulnerability and resilience in the face of volatile events such as the pandemic and climate change.
Now, data from the 2024/25 season confirms that the ski industry has come back swinging. Surpassing 2018/2019's record of 392 million worldwide skier visits, 2024/25's 399 million skier visits prove that skiing has officially come out of its post-pandemic slump.
However, what's almost more interesting is that visitation to ski resorts seems to be less and less impacted by snow conditions.
To further paint the picture of global skier visits, there are currently 68 countries with outdoor ski areas, totaling roughly 2,000 ski areas worldwide. Aside from the major, obvious players in skier visits like the US, Canada, and parts of Europe, Eastern Europe and China are considered emerging destinations alongside Cyprus, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Lesotho, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, and more, where skiing is either currently developing or been a small industry for a long time.
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Over the 2024/25 season, most countries saw skier visits exceed their pre-COVID five-year average, and several saw record visitation despite limited natural snow.
China leads in terms of outperforming the pre-Covid five-year average, with the US, Italy, and Russia in tow. Japan and Germany did not bode as well, and the question of returning to pre-pandemic visitation numbers remained in the air. It will be interesting to see how 2025/26 compares with Japan, where it seemed everyone went this winter.
Additionally, season-pass models are continuing to influence demand (which has reached an inflection point in the US, specifically), but window prices are increasing faster than revenue per skier visit, which has resulted in decreasing yield.
In North America, snowfall was below average in several areas in 2024/25, but visitation levels remained strong nationally. Snowfall in Europe also stayed below average, but snowmaking and strong holiday demand helped Switzerland to record its highest numbers in more than 15 years. Italy recorded its third consecutive net-positive season, and France, Austria, Spain, and Andorra saw increases in visitation.
As the 2025/26 ski season winds to a close amid below-average snowfall across much of the US and other regions, it's interesting to see these metrics.
Will 2024/25's trend of increased skier visits despite poor conditions hold true, or is there a line at which these numbers dip the other way? Have US tariffs impacted skier visitation as much as they've impacted other parts of the ski industry?
Following the roller coaster of the pandemic, it's certainly heartening to see the sport's resilience in its growth. The question remains whether there's a ceiling on this growth or something that would turn it back in the other direction.
Hard copies of Vanat's full report can be purchased online.
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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 4:27 AM.