The snow sports industry has experienced remarkable growth in the last fifty years. It is estimated that there are about 115 million skiers worldwide and around 2,000 ski resorts in 70 countries catering to this growing market. New resorts in Asia and Eastern Europe are competing for these visitors with already well established destinations. But the industry is changing. Technology is having a huge impact on the skiing product and how it is distributed; demographic shifts are affecting the ski industry landscape; and climate change is impacting hills all over the world. Such dramatic changes require a fresh look at this exciting and dynamic industry. Comprised of 12 chapters for easy semester teaching, each chapter follows the theme of 'working in winter wonderlands'. It covers a breadth of issues including: * The evolution of winter sport tourism, with skiing's earliest emergence as a leisure pastime during the mid-nineteenth century in Europe, to the present day; * The winter sport tourism product - the activities, resorts, and supporting industries such as clothing and equipment; * Design and planning for winter sports resorts including management and operations, both on- and off-mountain; * Marketing, public relations and media; * Planning, marketing and leveraging of events in the winter sports industry * Economic, social and environmental impacts of winter sport tourism; * Understanding the consumer, customer service and how to develop a service culture. * The future for the ski industry, how resorts need to cater to the future consumer, and how to deal with seasonality. The book has a sound pedagogic structure, with key chapter features including: * Spotlight' sections focusing on the occupation of a frontline individual in the snow sports industry in various roles including marketing, resort designer, entertainment and director of communications; * 'Profiles' on a particular resort, organization or individual that illustrates a particular concept or theoretical principle presented in the chapter. Interesting profiles include Patrick Bruchez, owner and manager of Verbier's olderst hotel; Joe Nevin, creator of Bumps for Boomers in Aspen; and Darren Turner developer of an innovative ski instruction app. The book also profiles Crystal Holidays, one the UK'S largest ski operators, and China's emergence as a key player in the global ski industry. * A detailed 'Case Study' which ,as a collection, cover a variety of organizations and regions. Designed to foster critical thinking, these cases illustrate actual business scenarios that stress several concepts found in the chapters. Case studies include women's instruction camps, Vail's development plans in Utah, ski resort infrastructure in Japan, DreamSki Adventures in South America, the EpicMix app in Colorado, the upcoming Olympics in South Korea, and Slovenia's growing ski scene. * Online tutor resources including Powerpoint slides with links to relevant videos. All spotlights, profiles and cases have been developed following a personal visit or in-depth interviews conducted by the authors, and there is an international flavor throughout the book. Essential reading for tourism students, researchers, and practitioners - particularly those working in the ski industry.

From old-time flipflop skis to modern-day snowboards, from miners to Olympians, from Park City to Snowbasin—Alan Engen and Gregory Thompson capture the rich legacy of skiing in Utah’s indomitable Wasatch Mountain Range through upbeat informative text and fascinating vintage and recent photographs. "Winter sport had reached the masses, and tiny mom-and-pop ski areas sprouted alongside the major resorts of the Wasatch Front. The fervor of the early pioneers—the miners, Alf Engen, the Rasmussen brothers—spread to thousands of Utahns, who began promoting their home as the ‘King of Winter Sports.’ The craze for skiing had matured into a deep-rooted respect for the canyons, ridgelines, and fields that harbor alpine and cross-country skiers alike, bringing people together in recreation and competition. Why shouldn’t the world share such a magnificent place?” Mitt Romney President and CEO Salt Lake Organizing Committee Olympic Winter Games of 2002 Alan K. Engen is the author of the award-winning book For the Love of Skiing: A Visual History. He is also the chairman and president of the Alf Engen Ski Museum Foundation, chairman and president of the Alta Historical Society, board member of the International Skiing History Association. Currently, he is the Director of Skiing at Alta, Utah, and has been affiliated with the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) for more than forty years. He lives in Salt Lake City. Gregory C. Thompson, Ph.D., is the Assistant Director for the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections and an adjunct assistant professor of history. In the 1980s, he cofounded the Marriott Library’s Utah Ski Archives Program. He lives in Salt Lake City. A search is underway for the names of ski jumpers who competed on Ecker Hill, in Park City, from the time the jumps were constructed in 1929 until the last competition on the hill in 1964. The names will be included in a new bronze monument commemorating the role of Ecker Hill in American skiing history. Please visit the Ecker Hill Jumpers Memorial Page if know of a jumper that should be included.