Why Are There More Americans Than Ever Skiing in Europe?

Hearing American accents in European ski resorts has, for many years, been a bit of a rarity. You’d occasionally hear a North American accent in the lift queue, or maybe even in a restaurant in the ski resort. But this year, 2024, seems to be different…

North Americans it seems are flocking to European ski resorts in the past few years in ever greater numbers.

And if you’ve been to any of the larger European ski resorts this season you might have noticed that American accents outnumbered some traditionally more ‘typical’ ski resort visitors such as Germans, Brits and even French at times. So whats going on?

Are there really more Americans at Europen ski resorts, and what could be driving this boom?

Are there really more Americans skiing in Europe?

Anecdotally, and from personal experience, yes there are many more Americans heading to Europe for ski and snowboard trips. While I haven’t been able to find a study to back this up, my experiences in Crans Montana, Chamonix and Les Houches in 2023/24 have definitely backed this up. Chamonix in particular was very heavy on North Americans. I met numerous Americans on the chairlifts and gondolas, as well as on the buses around the resort, not to mention in various restaurants.

While Americans are definitely seeing value in visiting the Alps for ski breaks, I did also meet a wide range of international visitors on our visit to Chamonix, including Qataris, Taiwanese and Brazilians.

Asking on a few social media sites including Reddit revealed that yes, Europeans have noticed a significant uptick in North American visitors. And also that Americans have stated that they have chosen European ski resorts this year for a number of reasons.

Which brings us to the question, why are more Americans skiing in Europe now?

Why are Americans choosing to ski in Europe?

I met and spoke to many North Americans in Chamonix, and followed this up online with some research on social media. There are obviously various reasons why North Americans are increasingly heading to Europe for ski breaks, including:

Lower costs vs North America

One of the biggest and perhaps the most obvious is that the cost of lift passes in North America is significantly higher than in Europe. Take for example Chamonix vs Vail, two of the biggest ski resorts in North America and Europe.

A one day pass for Chamonix Le Pass, which covers the Flegere-Brevent, Le Tour and Grande Montet ski areas costs between €44-€67 for one day. This does depend when you book, with prices cheaper if you book in advance and out of season.

By contrast, a one day pass for Vail costs $299, or if you manage to book in advance and get a discount, you can ski for $269 for one day. Of course, if you book multi-day lift tickets the price comes down, but you’re still looking at around $200 per day even if you book a 5 day or 7 day lift pass for Vail.

In short, one day at Vail buys you around 6 days of skiing at Chamonix’s Le Pass ski area.

And this isn’t just limited to these ski resorts. You’ll find that pretty much all North American ski resorts* cost roughly the same, including Whistler, Aspen, Revelstoke, Mammoth and more…

And that daily and weekly European ski pass price is comparable if you shop across the Alps and Europe in general.

Head to any of Europe’s cheapest ski resorts and that disparity just widens even more.

Add in the cost of hotels and, again, Europe comes out on top. You can easily find a hotel in the Chamonix region for anything between €100 to €300 per day (and upwards, of course). The standard will be pretty good too.

(*there are still cheap ski resorts in the USA)

But… Another factor in the rise in the American ski tourist in Europe is.

American season passes

One of the reasons why the American ski resorts charge such high day rates is because they are more focused on selling their higher priced season passes. The Epic and Ikon passes give the best value access for skiers and snowboarders to pretty much all the top ski resorts in North America – between them.

But they also bundle in access to partner resorts across the world, which includes several of the most high profile Alpine ski resorts such as Chamonix, Zermatt, Kitzbugel and Andorra’s Grandvalira (IKON Pass), and Verbier, Arlberg and Les 3 Vallees (Epic Pass).

So for North American skiers splashing the cash on these season passes, why not get their money’s worth and head to Europe to enjoy top tier skiing in the Alps?

In fact, expect this to contribute to a growing and consistent North American presence in the Alps moving forward…

Easy access

For many North Americans, especially those on the East Coast, it is just as easy (and often slightly cheaper) to fly to Europe than it is to fly to Colorado, British Columbia or Utah. Flights from Boston, New York, Washington, Montreal, Toronto and many other Eastern US cities fly directly into cities such as Geneva, Lyon, Munich, Zurich or Milan.

This ease of access, and the lower cost when in Europe, means that Americans are increasingly likely to choose a European ski break over a domestic option. Especially if they are looking for a shorter ski trip, coupled with a European city break or travel experience.

The poor 2024 winter season

North America’s winter season didn’t start well. And while Europe had a slow January-February with regards to snow, it was still mostly better conditions than much of the main ski resorts in the USA and Canada.

American skiers looking for better value snow cover would have been looking across the Atlantic throughout much of January and early Feb. And seeing as many book their trips weeks or even months in advance, it makes sense that a large section of the North American skiing public would decide that it made more sense to fly to Europe.

The influence of social media

TikTok, Instagram and, to an extent, YouTube have all also had a contributory effect on the profile of European resorts. While many see skiing and snowboarding as quite exclusive pursuits, they’ve definitely started to appeal to a broader demographic across the world, especially through social media.

This is leading to the growing popularity of these sports as ‘flex’ hobbies, or those pursuits that are very Instagrammable.

Snowboarding has apparently seen a 6% year on year growth since 2020, which could possibly be down to the profile of the sport on social media.

Online sentiment

During my research, it has seemed that the overwhelming sentiment among North Americans is that Europe offers better value and an overall better experience than North American skiing. Despite the reputed better snow cover in the Rockies, the Alps and Pyrenees offer a better value experience, which can be significantly cheaper and even more culturally enriching.

The uptick in North American ski tourism in Europe looks set to continue, at least in the mid term, as the combination of season passes and easy access makes European skiing a more attractive option.

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