Ski Tourism and Web Marketing Strategies: The Case of Ski Resorts in France and Spain

Abstract

The impacts of climate change are affecting ski tourism in Europe’s southernmost ski resorts, such as those in France, and Spain. This is leading to changes in the scheduling of activities which, in turn, imply changes in how ski resorts are managed. The main aim of this work is to analyze whether ski resort websites are developing an effective marketing strategy and if they are adapted to e-commerce and the needs of contemporary society, including the adaptations needed to better face climate change and the stagnation the sector is suffering. In order to achieve this, we have developed a model to analyze ski resort websites; it is based on web content analysis, taking four factors into account: information, communication, e-commerce, and additional functions. We will, secondly, apply the eMICA (Extended Model of Internet Commerce Adoption) methodology to analyze the maturity of such e-commerce activities in ski tourism. Fifty-two ski resorts in Spain and 173 in France were analyzed. Results show that, while alpine ski resorts in general, and those in France in particular, are better prepared, resorts still have to facilitate more effective communication and interaction with their target public. A minority of resorts provide information on environmental certifications and snowmaking.