This post was originally posted on LinkedIn:
Skydiving in a mall, Snow Skiing next to the beach and Golfing from the second floor. These three activities, and many more such as surfing 300 miles from the ocean, are all on a rise. Why would this be, how is it that people choose these activities, although they are all a scaled down version of “the real thing”. Access, affordability and most important: instant gratification. Today we are all spoiled, we want something and with just two clicks on our phone it will get it to us within 24 hours. This change in desire and expectation seems to work against activities that require either a skill or time commitment, such as skiing, surfing, skydiving and to a degree golf.
If we look at the wintersport industry as an example we find that, as with many of these established activities, winter sport participation in North America has not seen any substantial growth for some time now. And as the early adapters of the sport are slowly exiting the active participation demographic of the industry, the realization that the younger generations are not as engaged has emerged.
My thoughts on this is that this is likely caused by a change in “want” amongst the tweens, teens and young adults. These "remote sports" that require a substantial investment in money and time commitment seems to be something that many view as not worth it or simply too much effort. The fact that you need to take a consecutive week to learn the basic skill to truly participate , make an upfront large lump sum investment and have to travel for hours to get there, could be part of a process that put these new generations of possible participants off.
I believe this is why we see a surge of mostly indoor, smaller scale, close proximity attractions expanding across the country. These facilities can be ( and have been proven ) to be the key to reactivation of the interest in the sport by tweens, teen and young adults. A nearby, easily accessible under $100 experience, meets today's expectations. New participates can be introduced to an activity by friends or by pure intrigue, while experienced users can hone their skills.
And yes, some will view some of these activities as not “the real thing”, we all get that flying in a plastic tube in a mall is not the same as hanging from a parachute at 2000 feet, looking at all beauty below….. Yet, many believe they are key to expanding the participation of sports that are on a decline. Another rebuttal I have heard is that these facilities dilute the attendance for the “old school” versions of that activity, as a result of the instant gratification on offer versus the commitment to the traditional experience. And we have seen this dilution to a small degree in existing operations, yet by exposing a much larger demographic to the activity itself this is massively offset. As an example, since the over 20 year operation of indoor snow attractions, it is proven that the participation in a skill based activity, which these all are to a degree, will drive a group of participants that “taste the water and want more”. Those that that want to learn more and/or improve that skill, hence creating a whole new market thousands of miles away from the actual site of the traditional location of this particular activity.
And this is where the magic happens, large numbers of those indoor flyers, indoor skiers, mechanical wave surfers and elevated golfers at some point will want to experience the real thing. This, now familiar with the sport and somewhat experienced, demographic will seek out the airport near town to get licensed to jump alone, book that trip to South Africa or Cali, jump in the cart on the green and swamp the slopes at thousands of feet elevation. It is a natural progression that is undeniable.
Access, affordability and instant gratification go hand in hand and will drive business to the traditional operators. The key to growing the attendance & participation amongst new generations, is bringing the activity within proximity so that exposure is close to home and ease to engage in.
These are exciting times!
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