Off to hit the… slopes

Outside of Victoria, it is impossible to hit the golf course right now for obvious reasons.

You can’t hit the gym because they are all closed due to the highly contagious nature of the Omicron variant. 

The same goes for indoor skating rinks, amusement attractions such as indoor mini-putt, bowling, laser tag and arcades.

Skiing remains an option and there are over 250 ski facilities across Canada to choose from for those inclined to hit the slopes.

In 2021, we asked ski resort operators how they have coped during the pandemic. The vast majority said they adapted operations in response to the pandemic. Three in five reduced services and half cut labour costs.

Almost half of the resorts retrofitted facilities to adapt to health measures and two in five went contactless. 

Operating revenue at ski resorts was down 12.6% from a year earlier to $1.1 billion in 2020, as government restrictions limited ski resorts' days of operations and capacity. Operators in British Columbia (-$128.1 million) posted the largest loss, followed by operators in Alberta (-$23.2 million) and Quebec (-$14.2 million).

As for the other leisure options mentioned earlier, profit margins in the golf industry hit a record high 10.1%, with golfing being among the safest leisure options during the pandemic.

It was a different story for amusement and recreation businesses that operate in an indoor setting. Revenues in the fitness and recreational sports centres industry declined by almost one-quarter (-23.1%) to $3.5 billion. Operating revenues at amusement parks and arcades fell by 55.6% to a record low $343.2 million in 2020, due in part to the record drop in international tourism.

Health measures are set to ease by the end of January across much of the country, in tandem with falling case counts. Then we can gather indoors again with other Canadians at gyms, bowling alleys and amusement arcades.

Results for the amusement and recreation industry for 2021 will be released in the fall of 2022.