Adapting to climate change: Canadian skiers' behavioural responses and perceptions of snowmaking

Abstract

Ski tourism is predicated on low temperatures and natural snowfall, with climate change directly impacting the multibillion-dollar ski industry. As the ski industry continues to invest in snowmaking technology in response to warming climatic conditions, concerns regarding the sustainability of snowmaking are amplifying, including high levels of water and energy consumption required to produce snow, as well as associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by snowmaking equipment. During the 2023/2024 ski season, Canada experienced a record-warm winter that generated country-wide impacts in the form of late openings, temporal closures, and an early end to the season. The presented thesis is the first to explore skier/snowboarder experiences and behavioural responses immediately following a record-warm winter, and is the first to provide an empirical assessment of Canadian skier perceptions of snowmaking as an environmentally sustainable climate adaptation strategy. Using an online survey administered to active skiers and snowboarders across Canada from March through June 2024, a total of 209 surveys were collected and analyzed. The results reveal that during the 2023/2024 season, skiers have a high tolerance for marginal conditions (e.g., 59% would ski regardless of snow coverage), with most (57%) opting to ski less often (i.e., temporal substitution) versus a spatial (i.e., travelling elsewhere) or activity substitution (i.e., stop skiing). The frequency with which certain conditions were experienced statistically differed by region (e.g., machine-made snow), gender and age (e.g., warm temperatures, thin/bare patches, narrow snow coverage), with women and younger skiers more likely to have experienced these marginal conditions compared to men and older skiers. Older generations were also found to be less accepting of crowding conditions, more tolerant of poor snow conditions, and more in favour of snowmaking as a necessity to maintain ski seasons when compared to younger skiers. Most respondents (80%) are concerned about climate change negatively impacting current and future ski conditions, with a link between reported (i.e., behavioural response in 2023/2024) and projected future behaviours, suggesting a high reliability of using current behaviours following a record-warm season to predict future intentions. Moreover, almost all (90%) of respondents agreed that snowmaking is necessary, and over 80% agree snowmaking capacity must increase in the next five years. The results show the majority of skiers believe snowmaking requires significant water and energy to produce (82% and 80%, respectively), which negatively impacts water resources (36%) and results in significant GHG emissions (28%). Importantly, over one-third of skiers are undecided as to whether or not snowmaking negatively impacts water resources (38%), results in GHG emissions (43%), contributes to climate change (35%), and negatively impacts human health (59%), with women reporting significantly higher uncertainty than men, and older respondents agreeing less to the negative environmental and health impacts of snowmaking than young skiers. Emerging research suggests snowmaking can be compatible with climate action plans, underscoring an important opportunity for mountain destinations engaged in sustainable development to better communicate their adaptation-mitigation efforts to minimize uncertainty.