Skiers' Sense of Snow: Tourist Skills and Winter Holiday Attribute Preferences

Winter sports holidaymaking is an essential part of tourism, but skiers and their preferences and perceptions have not been much researched in academic contexts. This article presents certain factors influencing alpine skiers' destination choices and incorporates an examination of how these holidaymakers regard various attributes in relation to their destination choice. The study encompasses three types of destination aspects: ski attributes, price attributes, and destination/facility attributes. Alpine ski holidaymaking is here regarded as a skilled activity, and the skiers' destination choices and the related information sources are analyzed in relation to their winter holiday expertise, operationalized here as skiing skill level.