Brains
Each winter, millions of skiers and snowboarders flock to mountains across the globe in search of powder, adventure, and alpine charm—but some countries draw significantly larger crowds than others. The global ski industry is powered by less than a handful of nations that consistently dominate in terms of annual skier visits. Only three countries attract more than 50 million skier visits, and only about seven countries attract more than 20 million skier visits, while only nine crack into the double-digit millions. From the towering peaks of the Alps to the volcanic slopes of Japan, here’s a look at the world’s most visited ski nations based on total skier days. All data is based on 2023-24 skier visits, based on data from Laurence Vanat’s 2025 report, the National Ski Area Association (NSAA), as well as the International Federation of National Associations of Passenger Transport by Rope Railways (FIANET).
#9 Sweden — 10.5 million skier visits
Coming in ninth place is the only Scandinavian country, Sweden, with 10.5 million skier visits. While Sweden’s ski industry dates back more than 80 years, the country has seen substantial investments and an increase in foreign visitors in the last decade. Sweden boasts over 200 ski areas, and while resorts can be found from north to south, the largest and most developed are concentrated in the central part of Sweden, along the Scandinavian Mountains near the Norwegian border. Climate change, which has increasingly threatened snow reliability in the European Alps, is seen by some as a potential benefit for Sweden. As warmer temperatures impact traditional ski destinations, colder northern countries like Sweden may see increased demand from international visitors seeking snow-sure conditions. Resorts like Åre, Sälen, and Idre Fjäll lead the Swedish ski scene in terms of infrastructure, visitor numbers, and international recognition. To meet growing interest and maintain competitiveness, new investments continue to be made in these and other areas across the Swedish mountains. What makes Sweden’s number of skier visits even more impressive is that the country only has a population of 10.6 million and attracts only about 15% foreign skiers.
#8 Canada — 17.5 million skier visits
Canada is featured in eighth place for the 2023-24 season with 17.5 million skiers, down slightly from its usual skier visits due to below-average snow conditions. In strong winter seasons, Canada easily breaks the 20 million barrier, but last year, skier visits were down almost 15% from the previous season. Canada gets around 12% foreign skiers each year, mainly from the United States (67%), followed by Mexico (4%) and Australia (2%). For U.S. citizens, Canada offers a close and more affordable alternative to U.S. ski resorts. However, last season’s decline is not due to changes to foreign visitor flows but is largely attributed to the cost-of-living crisis in Canada. The most famous Canadian resorts for overseas tourists are Whistler and Banff.
#7 China — 23.1* million skier visits
China comes in in seventh place with 23.08 million skier visits, which was rounded up, thus resulting in a lower rank than Switzerland. It marks an increase of 16.3% from last season. China is the fastest-growing ski market in the world, with the number of skiers as well as resorts increasing steadily each year. Much of this growth is driven by China’s massive expansion of indoor ski centers, which attract close to 5 million visitors each year alone. Last season, China opened 30 new ski resorts, of which 15 were indoor (while five existing indoor facilities closed) and the other 15 were outdoor ski resorts (10 of which had aerial ropeways). However, the biggest hurdle for the Chinese ski industry is the retention of its 12.8 million skiers. Many skiers will try skiing as a one-off and not return to the sport. Up to 70% of ski visitors are first-timers who often don’t return due to poor instruction, high costs, and a lack of ski culture. Despite growing interest since the 2022 Olympics, skiing is still seen more as a one-time novelty than a regular activity in China.
#6 Switzerland — 23.1* million skier visits
Switzerland narrowly beats China with 23.14 million skier visits, or roughly 60,000 visits more than China. Unlike China, however, visiter numbers in Switzerland keep declining. 20 years ago, almost 35 million skier visits were registered in Switzerland, but the strong Swiss Franc has resulted in many foreign visitors electing to ski and board in cheaper Alpine regions, like Austria, Italy, or France. Germany, for example, is the largest outbound ski market in the world. Of its roughly 14 million skiers, a large chunk will ski outside of Germany, with Austria currently being the most popular destination for German skiers, contributing to roughly half the skier visits in Austrian ski resorts. The foreign ski market is incredibly important for the Swiss ski industry and has been lagging behind its neighbors due to cost aspects. Regardless, Switzerland still attracts a fair share of U.S. tourists, with 2023-24 marking a record year with 463,000 U.S. winter guests making up the second largest group of foreign winter guests behind Germany, with 676,000 visitors.
#5 Japan — 24.4 million skier visits
Japan comes in in fifth place with 24.4 million skier visits, down from 26 million last year. It is estimated, however, that thanks to the fantastic snow this season, the number for 2024-25 will be much higher when it is released. Japan has been experiencing a rare decrease in skier numbers, similar to Switzerland. However, the dynamics behind Japan’s decline are entirely different. The inbound market from Australia and America is booming, while the domestic market is falling away. An aging demographic is not being replaced by younger generations in sufficient numbers. While foreign tourists are boosting the dwindling numbers of local skiers, many Japanese resorts are reaching a point of fatigue with foreign skiers and boarders due to perceived disrespect of foreign tourists. The Sales Manager for Nozawa Onsen, Eiichi Yamazaki, stated, “Nozawa Onsen is already experiencing what could be called overtourism, as the number of foreign tourists continues to increase.”
#4 Italy — 32.0 million skier visits
Italy is one of the few European ski regions that is bucking the trend of declining or stagnating visitors. While it’s 4% growth from last season to 32 million for the 2023-24 season seems modest, it is part of a broader trend of rising visitation numbers for the last decade. Just a decade ago, Switzerland had more skier visits than Italy, but now Italy boasts almost 50% more skier visits than the birthplace of ski tourism. Last season, Italy had 54% foreign skier visits, the highest percentage of any ski country. Italy is particularly popular with Polish, Czech, American, British, and German tourists. Aside from the great skiing, delicious food, reasonable prices, and the famous Italian “dolce vita” that all attract foreign tourists, American tourists in particular have been persuaded with multi-passes, such as the Epic or Ikon, to visit Italian ski resorts.
#3 Austria — 50.1 million skier visits
Austria is one of only three countries that break the 50-million skier visit marker. Austria’s hotel industry recorded 71 million overnight stays during the winter season from November 2023 to April 2024. 77% of these hotel stays were booked by foreign tourists, and 66% of ski resort guests are foreigners, of which Germans make up by far the largest group, followed by the Netherlands, the UK, and Czechia. Guests from the USA have been the strongest growing group of foreign visitors to Austrian resorts, with nearly 1 million American visitors recorded in the 2023-24 season, an increase of 13% from the previous season. Austria boasts one of the most modern lift infrastructures in the world, having invested more than €6 billion ($6.7 billion) during the last decade. High-speed, detachable chairs with bubble and seat heating are the norm rather than the exception in Austrian ski resorts.
#2 France — 51.9 million skier visits
France beat Austria to second place with just shy of 2 million skier visits. The country has seen a surge in U.S. skiers in the last couple of years, and the trend has been continuing for the 2024-25 season, according to initial reports from French ski resorts. Some areas, such as Meribel, saw an increase of 59% of U.S. visitors. What makes skiing in France so appealing to overseas tourists is that it’s 11% cheaper than in Austria and 17% cheaper than in Switzerland. Nevertheless, France relies much less on foreign tourists than Austria, and has almost 9 million national skiers who make up more than 70% of skier visits. Unlike Austria and Switzerland, where resorts are owned and operated locally, many French resorts are operated by one of the world’s largest ski resort operators, Compagnie des Alpes. Compagnie des Alpes operates famous resorts such as La Plagne, Les Arcs, Tignes, Val d’Isère, Méribel, Les Menuires, Serre Chevalier, and the Grand Massif.
#1 USA — 60.5 million skier visits
USA reigns supreme in terms of skier visits with 60.5 million skier visits in the 2023-24 season. This represents a decrease of 7.5% from 2022-23, when a record 65.4 million skier visits were recorded across U.S. ski resorts. The U.S. ski industry is mostly domestic, with 95-97% of skier visits coming from domestic skiers. The high cost of lift passes is a deterrent to overseas visitors. The largest share of its 3-5% foreign skiers comes from other English-speaking countries, such as Canada, the UK, and Australia. However, a significant number also comes from Mexico and Brazil. Foreign visitors mainly flock to big luxury resorts such as Aspen or Deer Valley, which boast massive terrain and have global appeal.
These top nine countries not only boast extensive lift infrastructure and world-class terrain but also play a central role in shaping global ski culture and tourism. The emerging ski industry in China is certainly one to watch and has the biggest potential to affect the future of the global market. However, western markets continue to dominate the industry. The top 3 Western countries combined still claimed 44% of the global 366 million skier visits during the 2023-24 season. While many established wintersport countries had expected a sharper drop-off in skier visits due to retiring skiers from the boomers and silent generations, many older skiers still make up a large share of the market due to improved longevity and health into old age. “The expected decline of the number of skiers on the Western market did not really happen as expected,” Vanat writes in his 2025 report, “with ageing Baby-boomers keeping on skiing, even if it is less frequently.” The industry will certainly keep evolving, but for now it will be hard to dethrone USA, Austria, and France from their top three ranks.
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