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Scottish Slopes On The Slide

By Kimberlie Mackie

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Published: 26Nov2011
Word count: 443
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It turns out, that fewer and fewer people every year are choosing Scotland as a destination for winter sports pursuits. I cannot claim to be all that surprised at this actually. I wasn't aware that Scotland even offered skiing, snowboarding and the like. It can't have helped that British Winter Olympians have always been known to train abroad.

Despite this, skiers shopping the North Face apparel and hitting the slopes have regularly considered Scotland for their favourite pursuit. In fact, around £30 million a year is said to be generated by the snowsports industry in Scotland. But an independent review raises significant concerns over the sustainability of the market. It is hoped that their observations will be a wake-up call for those in the industry.

In the last 25 years, the ski centres of Scotland have received around 325,000 people annually. However, recent figures suggest that only around 200,000 a year are being received. This is despite British travellers choosing to stay within the UK for their holidays. Staycations may be popular, but when it comes to Skiing, expenses are apparently less likely to be spared.

Scotland competes not only with the Alpine resorts of major European countries, but with the emerging budget resorts in places like Bulgaria and Slovenia. It also competes, to be blunt, with its obscurity. A much needed profile boost will be needed, before people start strapping on their the North Face boots and climbing the Scottish highlands, whether they're skiing or not.

Some things cannot exactly be planned for. The weather in the British Isles at large has been unpredictable, erratic even. In recent years, there has been an expansion towards sight-seeing, mountain biking and climbing from the five ski centres in Scotland. These pursuits are part of why Skiing was ever suistainable: as good as the snow is in Bulgaria, most will not go for the sight-seeing.

Now it has been suggested that these five ski centres should form a coalition to raise their profile collectively and get people to understand that it snows in Scotland every winter. The rate of taxation in the UK on such resorts is also a problem that may be preventing further growth.

The position of skiing base stations has also been questioned. These stations are not usually any higher than 2,000 foot, and it has been suggested that moving them higher would give better access to better snow, specifically countering climatic concerns.

Kimberlie Mackie blogs regularly about sport and countless other things, especially with a UK slant. She writes on behalf of Snowboard clothing shop Surf Dome.

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