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says Kambayashi. “[It] makes the experi- ence very unique, so guests come visit our resort for that reason.” Another draw: Mountain Lights, a large-scale, immersive light installation by the internationally-acclaimed British artist Bruce Munro. “This is a one-of-a- kind night/evening experience, so guests visit our resort for the sake of this activity,” he says. The installation, now in its third year of operation, runs 1.3 km (about 0.8 miles) up the summer-dormant ski trails of Hanazono and includes various light creations inspired by the topography, geology, and mythology of the region. Guests are encouraged to experience the lights from above with a gondola ride and then on foot, walking down the trail through the ticketed exhibition. Kambayashi says the mountain’s summer operation “is expected to grow gradually and steadily.” Among the fac- tors expected to contribute is a new hotel, which opened in December and adds another 234 beds in addition to the resort’s existing hotel. Additionally, “Hok- kaido actually has a much larger tourism market in summer than in winter,” he says. “Niseko needs to tap into this exist- ing market to grow by creating more sum- mer content, reasons for them to choose and stay in Niseko in summertime.”
Alps, including four resorts in the Hakuba Valley, famous for its bottomless powder. About 30 percent of the company’s total revenue is derived from non-winter busi- ness, says CEO Shuhei Suzuki. Year-round business operations have helped to mitigate the risks of seasonal fluctuation, says Suzuki, and all-season sales are a component of NSD’s growth strategy. “Green season” visitation has outpaced winter visitation at some of NSD’s mountain resorts. For example, in FY 2024, Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort saw 228,000 green season visits to 147,000 winter season visits. Demand for green season activities increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, and NSD has continued to cultivate that demand. At its four resorts with large cableways (e.g., gondolas and chairlifts), Suzuki says NSD is aiming to attract more than 100,000 visitors per resort by invest- ing in new “content.” At its four resorts without large cableways, NSD is develop- ing summer business through base area activities such as glamping and netted adventure parks, with the aim of attract- ing tens of thousands of visitors per resort. The strategy is paying off, with resorts that do not operate cableways achieving record high green season visi- tation in FY 2024. A shift away from gar- dens to mountaintop terraces at resorts with cableways has also resulted in a sig- nificant increase in green season visitors. For example, the opening of the SORA Terrace observation deck at Ryuoo Ski Park boosted summer visitation more than tenfold in a four-year period. Mountain Lights is a large-scale, immersive art installation that draws visitors to Niseko Hanazono in the green season.
Suzuki believes there is still more opportunity for growth. “The tempera- ture in urban areas of Japan is likely to continue to get hotter, and since summer vacations in Japan are long, we believe we can promote further trips to the mountains,” he says. “Also, although the number of inbound visitors (i.e., foreign tourists) to our facilities in the summer is still low, there is a great opportunity to add destinations such as Hakuba, where travelers can see spectacular natural scenery, from major tourist areas such as Kyoto, Tokyo, and Osaka, and we believe there is still room for growth.” 6. NISEKO HANAZONO, JAPAN Niseko Hanazono Resort is one of four interconnected resorts on Mt. Nise- ko Annupuri on Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaido. In the winter, the resort offers primarily beginner and intermediate terrain as well as a host of snow-play activities such as tubing and snow rafting. In the summer, Hanazono has a mix of onsite and offsite sightseeing and adventure activities and experienc- es, with about 10 percent of the resort’s total revenue deriving from non-winter business, according to director and GM Norio Kambayashi. Among the onsite summer activities are a pay-to-play challenge course and a free canopy walk, as well as scenic gon- dola rides, golf cart tours, and donut boat excursions on the Hanazono Beach pond. In March 2023, the resort also launched a new zip line attraction, the Hanazono Zipflight. At 1,700 meters (approximate- ly 5,575 feet), it is the longest zip line in Japan. That superlative attracts visitors,
AUSTRALIA
7. MT BULLER, AUSTRALIA A new via ferrata led to a bump in sum- mer business at Australia’s Mt Buller. The alpine resort, three hours outside of Melbourne, has roughly 750 skiable acres served by 19 lifts and a village with 7,000 on-mountain beds. “Non-winter trade represents a very small amount of total revenue,” says summer activations man- ager Florian Tabelander, “however, we are trying to increase this share year-on-year.” As part of the effort to grow its sum- mer business, Mt Buller, which also offers XC and gravity-fed mountain biking, hik- ing, and events, opened Australia’s first alpine via ferrata in February 2024. “With via ferrata-style climbing being very pop- ular in other parts of the world, we saw increased interstate travel to Mt Buller in our inaugural season,” says Tabelander. The via ferrata, constructed by Austra- lian mountaineer James Webb, launched
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