Quality of ski resorts and competition between the Emilian Apennines and Altipiani Trentini. An estimate of the hedonic price

We use the hedonic framework to estimate and simulate the hedonic ticket prices of 19 ski resorts in the Emilian Apennines and Altipiani Trentini. To do so, we combine data on lift facilities and slopes from several sources as well as climatic data and characteristics of the ski resorts over the 2008‐2011 winter seasons. Hedonic linear and logarithmic regression models are estimated for weekdays and weekends ticket prices. Our robust regression of changes in hedonic prices with respect to the characteristic of the ski resorts yield precise and consistent estimates of positive effects on ticket prices. We find that willingness to pay (WTP) for the length of winter season tends to be higher than transport capacity, length and the altitude of the slopes or the other characteristic of the chairlifts and ski runs. Then, we use our estimates to predict the ticket price level as a measure of the quality of the ski resort. We found that the perception of skiers is very selective and their choices are based on the characteristic of the ski resort.