The Accessibility of Winter Sports Holidays for People of African Heritage
Author: Alistair Cocks
2 Commentries
Abstract
This report discusses the reasons why there are so few people of African heritage going on winter sports holidays. It concludes that, as well as institutional racism, there are motivational, and socio-economic reasons for this and comments on what can be done to make the industry more diverse.
Key words: accessibility, people of African heritage, winter sports holidays, socio-economic, racism, diversity.
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Where is the diversity on the slopes? Motivational factors play a key role in answering this question. Individual interests develop from learning experiences (Buckley et al, 2004), however few people with African heritage have been on a winter sports holiday and therefore it is unlikely that they will be interested in them in later life. In addition to this, many people of African heritage may not want to participate in snow sports because they have rarely seen their demographic perform on a major stage at a professional level. This means that the number of the African heritage population enjoying winter sports holidays will continue to remain low unless some intervention is made by the resorts and organisations marketing their services to attract a more diverse population. A counter argument is that winter sports resorts do not focus their marketing on this demographic because for them they already have a ready market which at times fills their resorts to capacity.
Only 2% of people taking winter sports holidays are of African heritage. There are socio-economic factors as to why the snow sport industry is not diverse. Relevant research suggests that a large percentage of people of this demographic live in urban areas. As winter sports resorts tend to be more rural and long distances from many urban areas, fewer people in this demographic are likely to participate in winter sports. These long distances make travel costs high, therefore people tend to spend more time at the destination to make it worthwhile, further increasing the cost. The cost of winter sports holidays is also estimated to increase in the future because of climate change and this will further affect the lack of diversity within this industry.
Does racism also have an effect on the numbers of people of African heritage taking winter sports holidays? There are social codes and behaviours which are hidden entry requirements acting as a barrier for anyone wanting to participate in winter sports, similar to other sports, such as sailing and golf. But is the winter sports tourism industry inherently racist? The barriers just referred to can show a covert type of racism called inferential racism, often used by people who say that they are not racist. Inferential racism leads to institutional racism (Kilvington, 2013). Any type of racism needs to be eradicated and the measures that are beginning to be taken and that can be taken by the winter sports industry in the future will help address this.
There are things that the industry can do to increase diversity and there are things that they are already doing. As there are few role models that people of African heritage can look up to, social media influencers can help fill the gap. Many summer tourist destinations already employ influencers to increase the amount of people visiting their destination. Therefore, the same promotion technique can be used to promote winter sports resorts to this demographic. Using social media to target a younger population within this demographic is important as, if they enjoy it, they will take their family in the future. In order to reduce any negative experiences and attract this demographic to the snow sports industry (Harrison, 2013), ski clubs have formed in both the US (National Brotherhood of Skiers) and the UK (Nubian Ski Club). Because there is institutional racism in the industry, the organizations overseeing the industry must reform. Many organisations and companies are increasing diversity on their boards and implementing diversity into all aspects of their operations. Many winter sports holiday companies are already promoting diversity but acknowledge that more can be done.
This report concludes that the winter sports tourism industry attracts predominantly white tourists and therefore has a lack of diversity. It has critically discussed the accessibility of snow sports tourism for people of African heritage in order to increase diversity. There are underlying political issues concerning racism within society in general, and within the snow sports industry, which need addressing in order to make snow sports tourism more accessible for this demographic. Socio-economic issues also cause the lack of diversity within the snow sport industry. However, it is equally important to motivate more people of African heritage to participate in winter sports so that they can be role models and inspire future generations.
References
Buckley, S., Hasen, G. and Ainley, M. (2004) Affective engagement: A person-centred approach to understanding the structure of subjective learning experiences. Australian Association for Research in Education, 1, 1-20.
Harrison, A.K. (2013) Black skiing, everyday racism, and the racial spatiality of whiteness. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 37(4) 315-339.
Kilvington, D. (2013) British Asians, covert racism and exclusion in English professional football. Culture Unbound, 5(4) 587-606.
This report discusses the reasons why there are so few people of African heritage going on winter sports holidays. It concludes that, as well as institutional racism, there are motivational, and socio-economic reasons for this and comments on what can be done to make the industry more diverse.
Key words: accessibility, people of African heritage, winter sports holidays, socio-economic, racism, diversity.
___________________________________________________________________
Where is the diversity on the slopes? Motivational factors play a key role in answering this question. Individual interests develop from learning experiences (Buckley et al, 2004), however few people with African heritage have been on a winter sports holiday and therefore it is unlikely that they will be interested in them in later life. In addition to this, many people of African heritage may not want to participate in snow sports because they have rarely seen their demographic perform on a major stage at a professional level. This means that the number of the African heritage population enjoying winter sports holidays will continue to remain low unless some intervention is made by the resorts and organisations marketing their services to attract a more diverse population. A counter argument is that winter sports resorts do not focus their marketing on this demographic because for them they already have a ready market which at times fills their resorts to capacity.
Only 2% of people taking winter sports holidays are of African heritage. There are socio-economic factors as to why the snow sport industry is not diverse. Relevant research suggests that a large percentage of people of this demographic live in urban areas. As winter sports resorts tend to be more rural and long distances from many urban areas, fewer people in this demographic are likely to participate in winter sports. These long distances make travel costs high, therefore people tend to spend more time at the destination to make it worthwhile, further increasing the cost. The cost of winter sports holidays is also estimated to increase in the future because of climate change and this will further affect the lack of diversity within this industry.
Does racism also have an effect on the numbers of people of African heritage taking winter sports holidays? There are social codes and behaviours which are hidden entry requirements acting as a barrier for anyone wanting to participate in winter sports, similar to other sports, such as sailing and golf. But is the winter sports tourism industry inherently racist? The barriers just referred to can show a covert type of racism called inferential racism, often used by people who say that they are not racist. Inferential racism leads to institutional racism (Kilvington, 2013). Any type of racism needs to be eradicated and the measures that are beginning to be taken and that can be taken by the winter sports industry in the future will help address this.
There are things that the industry can do to increase diversity and there are things that they are already doing. As there are few role models that people of African heritage can look up to, social media influencers can help fill the gap. Many summer tourist destinations already employ influencers to increase the amount of people visiting their destination. Therefore, the same promotion technique can be used to promote winter sports resorts to this demographic. Using social media to target a younger population within this demographic is important as, if they enjoy it, they will take their family in the future. In order to reduce any negative experiences and attract this demographic to the snow sports industry (Harrison, 2013), ski clubs have formed in both the US (National Brotherhood of Skiers) and the UK (Nubian Ski Club). Because there is institutional racism in the industry, the organizations overseeing the industry must reform. Many organisations and companies are increasing diversity on their boards and implementing diversity into all aspects of their operations. Many winter sports holiday companies are already promoting diversity but acknowledge that more can be done.
This report concludes that the winter sports tourism industry attracts predominantly white tourists and therefore has a lack of diversity. It has critically discussed the accessibility of snow sports tourism for people of African heritage in order to increase diversity. There are underlying political issues concerning racism within society in general, and within the snow sports industry, which need addressing in order to make snow sports tourism more accessible for this demographic. Socio-economic issues also cause the lack of diversity within the snow sport industry. However, it is equally important to motivate more people of African heritage to participate in winter sports so that they can be role models and inspire future generations.
References
Buckley, S., Hasen, G. and Ainley, M. (2004) Affective engagement: A person-centred approach to understanding the structure of subjective learning experiences. Australian Association for Research in Education, 1, 1-20.
Harrison, A.K. (2013) Black skiing, everyday racism, and the racial spatiality of whiteness. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 37(4) 315-339.
Kilvington, D. (2013) British Asians, covert racism and exclusion in English professional football. Culture Unbound, 5(4) 587-606.