oblivion 5 Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 Check this out: "The growing snowboarding market in Japan is all that's keeping the country's winter sports industry from complete melt down according to commentators. The country's skier numbers has nearly halved from a peak of 18.6 million a decade ago to 10.8 million skiers in 2001. Over the same period annual sales of ski and snowboard equipment in one of the world's biggest markets has dropped more than a quarter from 2.5 to 1.8 million units. However the total figure for winter sports participation in Japan has not fallen so dramatically thanks to a boom in snowboarding over the past five years, reaching 5.3 million in 2001. This fact is especially ironic in a country where boarders were banned or severely restricted from the majority of ski areas during the boom years of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Industry analysts blame falling birth rate, lack of money for leisure spending and the fact that winter sports are less fashionable today then a decade ago as key reasons for the decline in skiing. Young people prefer mobile phones and computer games. Various reports claim that average takings are down 40 to 50% at many resorts and that perhaps half of the country's 700 or so ski areas are technically bankrupt but are staying in business as bankruptcy is a more expensive option in Japan. The statistics are not bad for all Japanese areas however, with some slopes nearer to the cities doing better than 10 years ago due to advances in snowmaking technology. The more proactive areas are offering ever more efficient means of getting skiers from cities to the slopes and even the previously unheard of idea of trying to attract foreign nationals from China and South Korea, where skiing is booming." Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 Snowboarders to the rescue.....da da da daaaaaaa! Link to post Share on other sites
echineko 1 Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 We should get some bonus or present, don't you think? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 No I think snowboarders should be discouraged in every way, and be told off publicly on news programs. Link to post Share on other sites
scoobydoo 0 Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 Yes, they should be scolded. Link to post Share on other sites
jared 0 Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 wow - that’s amazing I heard that the movie making industry was also in serious trouble cos the number of video machines sold has dropped dramatically recently. Only a fraction of the number sold in the eighties are being sold now. Fortunately the new "digital video disk" players have been selling well lately saving the movie making business from doom. It really is amazing because 20 years ago most video shops didn’t even stock "DVD's" as they are known. Thank you DVD for saving Hollywood. People who watch DVDs rather than videos should be given a prize. And to think that I heard on the news that there are bad violent DVD movies screwing up society when we should be glad that movie watching has been saved by these very DVD's portrayed as wrong by the media. Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 jared, some kind of smiley/icon might have helped your post message there. I agree with Ocean11 though - deal with them harshly. Link to post Share on other sites
snobee 0 Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 Whos to say that without the advent of boarding many of the riders wouldn't be skiing (new wave), blading, tubing or whatever. And perhaps realistically the "Cow of Ski-jo(e)s" was obscenely obese and needed healthy trimming to remain brisk and viable. Not all slimming is anorexic. Link to post Share on other sites
Karnidge 2 Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 I think they would be. Ocean11 on skis, now there's a sign to see! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 If anybody wants to lend me some boots and skis, I'll give it a go. (The boots have to be red to match my helmet - style does count.) Recently some of my filthy nocturnal fantasies have been interrupted by dreams of skiing. Bizarre! I still think that the potential bounty offered by snowboarders has been significantly overlooked by 'the Industry' as a whole in Japan. They're picking up on it now, but very slowly. Link to post Share on other sites
jared 0 Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 you know what I mean? Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 Not really, no Link to post Share on other sites
Roger's head 0 Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 I think it should be a project for next season, Ocean11 - and you can write about it in your column there. I'd be interested to read that for sure. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 I'll give that some serious thought. I guess I could always hire the gear... Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 I dont think snowboarders are over looked nowadays at all. There have been snow parks (formerly snowboard parks) for over 5 years now. OB is banned for everyone, PS I was ducking Japanese ropes 8 years ago. They didnt say much then cause no one followed (thats a different story). Instruction has gotten better. There is even a snowboard college to learn just about anything. Yes there are some small lame resorts who say no to riders, but they are the minority. Frankly I just wont go to those ones, neither should anyone else. A resort can always improve and they should be looking at ways to improve everyday. Did snowboarding save the industry? maybe. but it wouldnt have disapeared altogether either. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 Well a big pat on the back to all of us! Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts