Comparison of the Polish, Czech, and Slovakian ski resorts with the method of hedonic prices

Marek Nowacki

The Hedonic Price Method helps develop a hierarchy of ski resorts, where the criterion is the ratio of the ski pass price to the quality of the service. Using a properly selected research sample and the nonlinear estimation method, one can estimate the impact of ski resorts attributes on ski pass prices. The estimated ski pass prices allow to compare the effectiveness of ski resorts in different countries. Material and methods. Data for the analysis, relating to the ski season of 2015/2016, were attributes of 245 ski resorts in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The quality index was constructed with the method of hedonic prices and nonlinear least squares estimation. Results. The average quality of Polish ski resorts is significantly higher than that of Czech and Slovakian ones. However, prices in the Polish resorts are highest in relation to the offered quality. In Poland, there are the largest number of ski resorts characterized by excessive (in relation to the offered quality) prices of ski passes. Conclusions. The features that most strongly affect the price of ski passes in Polish, Czech, and Slovakian ski resorts are: the proportion of fast and modern detachable chairlifts, the upper station altitude, and the ski season duration.