Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Sport – Sport Economics, Sport Management, grade: 66 %, Northumbria University (School of Psychology and Sports Sciences), language: English, abstract: Prior to World War I, skiing had already established itself as a leisure activity and as
an integral part of winter sports tourism (www.kokotele.com). In Scandinavia and the
central European alpine states, skiing evolved as an industry around 1890. The first
exhibition of winter sp...
Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Sport – Sport Economics, Sport Management, grade: 66 %, Northumbria University (School of Psychology and Sports Sciences), language: English, abstract: Prior to World War I, skiing had already established itself as a leisure activity and as
an integral part of winter sports tourism (www.kokotele.com). In Scandinavia and the
central European alpine states, skiing evolved as an industry around 1890. The first
exhibition of winter sports equipment was held in Muerzzuschlag in Austria in 1894,
two German and 14 Austrian manufacturers put their products on display
(www.land.heim.at). Also around this time the first international skiing, crosscountry
and ski jumping championships took place. The winter sport industry in
particular the skiing industry obtained a tremendous boost through the first winter
Olympics, held in Chamonix in 1924 (www.olympic.org/uk).
With growing prosperity of European countries in the late fifties, the skiing industry
developed into an important part of the leisure and tourism sector. These days whole
regions are dependent on ski tourism and it provides many jobs for people in
mountainous areas (www.skimuseum.net). These days Europeans go for vacation
rather than recreation, and skiing is as much a social as a sporting activity (Lennon,
1997). The recent emergence of snowboarding has contributed to the ski tourism industry,
attracting many youngsters to ski resorts (Marzella, 2001). Snowboarding as a sport
was invented through surfers in the 1960`s who fixed bindings on to modified
surfboards. As the yuppie age ended and the “Generation X’ers” began to get into
skateboarding, BMX bikes, bungee jumping, and roller blading., snowboarding took
off (Reichenfeld & Bruechert, 1995). By the late 1980`s, rapid growth in the sport had
been tipped into motion by a number of important catalysts. Effective technical
innovations and the formation of a world professional tour (backed by enthusiastic
media) were the main factors in widening the sports commercial market and creating
what is now an established and vibrant industry. However, many ski resorts still treat
snowboarding as a secondary market, although it must be added, that by 1996 97% of
all ski resorts “welcomed” snowboarders (Marzella, 2001). Through the increased
popularity of snowboarding over the last 10 years, it is inevitable that some resorts
would develop a strong attraction for boarders (Lennon, 1997). […]
