If the market changes, don’t we shimmy with it?

We’re just on our way back from the Austrian mountains where we’ve been trekking in the snow.

So what, you say to yourself.

Well, weirdly, the visit has been a metaphor for what happens to a business when it doesn’t move with the inevitable.

Look at this picture.

Whole lot of brown, not much white, eh?

Yet we’re currently in the various stages of February half-term for Europe.

It’s HIGH season for the skiing tourist trade.

But where’s all the winter wonderland?

Now, it’s been well documented since the Millennium that the lower ski resorts simply don’t get the snow any more. Global warming indeed.

When we went up to the top of the mountains – around 1800-2000, then the snow was certainly better, but was still needing a lot of artificial creation of new powder.

And it wasn’t just for the downhill devotees, but just as much for the langlauflaup (cross country skiing) tracks and even for us, the humble walkers (Winterwanderweg).

This, then, is a market that is in inexorable decline. The less snow there is, the more the competition between resorts hots up. The sheer volume of business shrinks. Everyone in the ski tourist trade is vying for a smaller and smaller pot. Inevitably, a race for the bottom has started.

It’s not sustainable as it stands.

Our hotel in the Gastein valley is lovely. But it’s offering rather exceptional value – not a premium charge at all. It’s a sign of the times. Take a stroll around town and many places have put up a sad little notice saying “Unser Hotel ist geschlossen” (“Our hotel is closed”).

What to do then?

Well, for a start, think about concentrating on people like us (walkers) rather than the traditional market (skiiers). It’s an amazing experience to be up the top of the mountains and trudging through the alpine landscape. You can charge us some money for entry, and the cost of maintaining the Winterwanderweg paths is a FRACTION of conditioning the skiing pistes.

Also, this would expand the available market – everyone can walk, few people can ski.

All the infrastructure is there (hotels, spas, lifts, etc).

But OH NO… the walking experience is RUBBISH (unless you have inside knowledge).

All the advertising and public information doesn’t really tell you where the paths are. There’s a fantastic valley walk up on the tops in Sportgastein, but the info doesn’t tell you about it!

So someone in the Gasteinertal tourist department needs to get their head around this issue quickly.

When your market changes, when demand shifts, you morph your offering. You don’t stick your head in the sand, doggedly trying to do the same as you always have done, in the hope that it is the market that is wrong, not you.

Remember Kodak?

So Austria, Salzburgerland and Gastein – time to make that critical strategic move to ensure your future.

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