Motivations and Normative Evaluations of Summer Visitors at an Alpine Ski Area

This article examines motivations of people visiting an alpine ski area in the summer season and their norms regarding acceptable and unacceptable trail conditions and densities of use at this area. Data were obtained from on-site surveys of summer visitors ( n = 422) at the Whistler Mountain ski area in British Columbia, Canada. Cluster analysis of several reasons for visiting revealed three groups ranging from a group who rated all motivation factors as most important to a group who only considered the alpine scenery as important. Norms were measured using evaluations of photographs depicting increasing trail widths and densities of sightseers/hikers and mountain bikers. Compared to the other two groups, the group who only considered the scenery important had lower normative acceptance of increasing densities of use and wider trails and had more norm crystallization or consensus about acceptable and unacceptable conditions. Research and management implications are discussed.