In a survey conducted by Mountain Management Consulting in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck, Zermatt's Swiss ski resort was voted the most popular ski resort in the Alps. The survey, which took place last season and involved approximately 49,000 winter sports enthusiasts across 54 areas in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France, also revealed that Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis in Austria was the second most popular ski resort, followed by Kronplatz, Val Gardena, and Livigno, all of which are Italian ski resorts. The respondents in the ski resorts were required to rate various categories on a scale of 1 to 10, including ski area size, snow reliability, slope quality, friendliness, transport comfort, and the perceived price-performance ratio.
The "Best Ski Resort Report" of 2021 revealed that Zermatt received the highest average score of 8.47 points. Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis, known for being highly rated by families with children, came in second with a score of 8.41 points. The Kronplatz area in South Tyrol took third place with 8.36 points. It's worth noting that Zermatt was also ranked as the top ski resort in the previous year's survey.
Overcrowding could become a problem
According to the report, the overall satisfaction across all areas fell slightly in the survey for the second time in a row, scoring 7.86 points. One reason cited for this is the temporary difficult snow conditions and the resulting increase in the degree of filling of larger regions with guaranteed snow. The press release concludes that climate change could intensify this trend. Therefore, regions will need to find ways to balance guest numbers and better manage the distribution of skiers.
Level of awareness is crucial
The rating of ski resorts in this study is based on factors such as the level of awareness, the size of the ski area, regional importance, and number of overnight stays. This survey has been conducted every two years since the winter of 2012. However, the last survey was postponed by a year due to the Corona pandemic. For the current report, 49,210 skiers and snowboarders were randomly surveyed directly in the ski resorts through a questionnaire during the winter of 2022/2023.