Demand for downhill skiing in subarctic climates

This paper investigates the determinants of ski lift revenues between 1998/1999 and 2014/2015 in 20 ski areas in Finland by differentiating among winter climate conditions. Results based on dynamic panel data estimations reveal that revenues depend positively on real GDP, snow depth, and an early Easter, and negatively on relative ski lift ticket prices. The magnitude of the link between ski lift revenues and snow depth is large, but ski areas in northern Finland are less sensitive to variations in natural snow depth than those in southern or central Finland. Winter seasons with low snowfall (i.e. between 30% and 75% below average) lead to a reduction of 23% in ski lift revenues in southern Finland, of 8% in central Finland, and of 5% in northern Finland. A high amount of natural snowfall early in the winter also has a positive impact on revenues for the overall season. Despite strong investments in snowmaking facilities, even ski areas at the highest northern latitudes are not insensitive to variations in natural snowfall.