Snowsports sector - economic, social and cultural impact: research - technical report

1. Introduction

This technical report accompanies the main report that presents the findings of research into the Economic, Cultural and Social Impact of the Scottish Snowsports Sector. It provides further information and detail which has been used to inform the design of the research and its findings.

The research was commissioned in January 2022, and over the course of this year the funding, policy and operating environments have continued to evolve. The research findings and actions to strengthen the snowsports sector in Scotland should therefore be reviewed in the following context:

• The cost of living crisis: This will affect us all, but the impact will be disproportionately felt by those who are already struggling to make ends meet. For many individuals and families, it will mean struggling to meet basic needs, such as rent, food, clothing, and heating. With less, or no, disposable income, tough decisions will need to be made and household budgets cut accordingly. Many will focus on necessities rather than luxuries. Sports and activities which are free or cheap to access are likely to be more appealing. Snowsports activities can be expensive, and participation is likely to be impacted negatively by the current crisis.
• Climate change: Scotland is getting ever warmer and wetter and this trend looks set to continue. Decreasing predictability of weather patterns continues to threaten the sustainability and viability of the mountain centres. The levels of snowfall are declining and becoming less predictable which may result in declining demand, and this increases the snowsports sector's vulnerability.

The pressures placed on Scottish public finances have been significant for several years, and continue to be under significant pressure, not least because of external factors such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and cost of living crisis. The Scottish Government and enterprise agencies (and others) will face significant challenges when setting budgets in the short- and medium-term. This will mean difficult decisions will require to be made that will limit the scope and flexibility to fund interventions that are not considered a top or high priority.

1.1 Structure of the report

This report contains the following information:

Section 2 - Research methodology

Section 3 to Section 7 - Fieldwork materials

Section 8 - Consent forms/privacy notices

Section 9 to Section 11 - Summary data tables

Section 12 – Business group discussion notes