Bumps for Boomers going from strength to strength

Six years ago I came to Aspen, Colorado and took part in a memorable ski program called Bumps for Boomers®. I was so inspired by the concept that I wrote a detailed case study for students called ‘Bumps for Boomers: Marketing Sport Tourism to the Aging Tourist’, and it has been used in our Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management classes ever since. So it was wonderful to come back to Aspen this year to find the program going from strength to strength. In fact, on my first night in Aspen, I ‘bumped’ in to Joe Nevin (on the right in the picture above), creator of the program, and was delighted to hear that Bumps for Boomers – with its tagline ‘Ski for Life’™ - is now one of the most popular specialized instruction programs offered in Aspen, with skiers flying in from around the country – and the world, from the middle of December through March, to take part in the program. Throwing away all pre-conceived notions on how to teach off-piste skiing, Nevin makes older skiers feel safer in bumps and powder than on groomed slopes where 80% of skiers congregate and the chance of a collision is highest. When I wrote the case study, Nevin was ahead of his time, speaking knowledgeably on subjects such as search engine optimization, database management and anchor texting. And it seems all his efforts have come to fruition. If you would like a copy of the case study, send me an email (shudson@hrsm.sc.edu) or you can download the case study here.