Winter tourism in Germany is much more than skiing! Consumer motives and implications to Alpine destination marketing

Abstract

Winter sports tourism is a key economic factor in many mountain regions worldwide. Research to date has concentrated on economic and environmental questions related to winter sports and winter outdoor activities, with the impacts of climate change and adaptation strategies being the dominant fields of discussion. An analysis of German winter holidays indicates that winter sports are only one of several product types. The fact that the majority of German travellers prefer long-haul warm weather destinations in the winter raises the question of triggering factors for winter holiday trips. A qualitative study based on a Germany-wide online discussion forum analyses all aspects of winter trips. It centres on people’s everyday life during the winter and their linked emotions, travel motives, destination choices and general expectations, in particular with relation to trips to Alpine destinations. The results show that the grey winter weather and factors such as cold, humidity, lack of sun and dull atmosphere are the dominant factors in the desire to escape on a holiday trip. Non-skiers expect snow-covered landscapes and an environment conducive to relaxation-related activities and are therefore likely to be looking for sustainable winter products. This supports Alpine destination managers who are developing sustainable winter products in addition to winter sports in order to become more competitive in the non-skier market.

Perceived quality, authenticity, and price in tourists’ dining experiences: Testing competing models of satisfaction and behavioral intentions

“…H4a: Perceived price fairness positively influences customer satisfaction H4b: Perceived price fairness positively influences behavioral intentions Authenticity plays a major role in customers' experience, leading to satisfaction and/or positive behavioral intentions (Liu et al, 2018). Authenticity is a key pull-factor for mountain tourist destinations where consumers seek authentic, rustic experiences in their activities (Andersson et al 2016;Bausch and Unseld, 2017). Authenticity "functions to interlace notions of originality, genuineness, symbolism, encounter and experience" (Rickly and McCabe, 2017: 55).…”

“…Yet, for some of these settings, experiences remain rather unexplored. Bausch and Unseld (2017) point out that the extant literature often depicts tourist experiences in alpine settings overly simplified, and an understanding of tourists' dining experiences within the unique outdoor mountain tourism environment is rather missing. 3 Moreover, although it is clear that service quality, quality of environment, food quality, price fairness, and authenticity positively influence tourists' behavioral intentions (Han and Hyun, 2017;Liu and Jang, 2009) there is disagreement in the extant literature on the relationship between the three factors: service quality, environmental quality, and food quality.…”

Does Climate Change Influence Guest Loyalty at Alpine Winter Destinations?

“…Two aspects were examined in order to identify climate change as an influential factor outside the marketing and traveller variables in the model. First, based on the dimensions set up by Bausch and Unseld [30], we looked at the personal motivations for a winter holiday trip. Participants had to assign each dimension to one of three options: 'that's me', 'that's only partially me', 'that's not me'.…”

Winter Weather Anomalies and Individual Destination Choice

“…Generally, tourists go to the mountains to take part in common winter sports activities, but they may also go there to seek nature and relaxation. Typical winter sport activities include downhill skiing, cross country skiing, ski mountaineering but also non-snow-based activities [12]. Traditional ski tourism may face increased competition from sun and beach holidays, outdoor trips, and long-distance destinations, as well as from weekend city breaks.…”