Colorado ski Resorts Set Record For Visitors Despite Weather Woes
By SANDY SHORE
AP Business Writer
DENVER (AP) -- The fickle winter that pounded parts of the Rockies boosted Colorado's ski resorts to a record-setting year yet left resorts in other parts of the country wanting, trade groups said.
Colorado's 26 resorts logged 12.6 million skier visits for the season, up 0.22 percent from the 12.5 million in 2005-2006, Colorado Ski Country USA reported Thursday.
Nationwide, the $6 billion ski industry reported 54.8 million visitors, down 7 percent from last year's record of 58.9 million, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Warm weather hurt resorts in most parts of the country except the Rockies, the association said.
In Colorado, destination resorts, where guests typically stay more than a day, and smaller ski areas both saw increases. But resorts closest to metropolitan Denver were hurt when winter storms kept day skiers and snowboarders from driving to the slopes, Colorado Ski Country said.
"With marginal snowfall around the globe, this was a challenging season for the industry," said Rob Perlman, Colorado Ski Country's chief executive officer and president.
"It was our goal to sustain last year's growth and surpass the 12 million mark to set a new benchmark for the state," he said in a statement.
The industry measures business by a skier visit, defined as one person buying and using a lift ticket for all or part of a day.
The Rocky Mountain region, which includes Colorado, set a record with 21 million skier visits, about 38 percent of the total industry visits, the National Ski Areas Association said.
"If you look from coast to coast, the Rocky Mountain region did very well," NSAA President Michael Berry said. "The snow was still off somewhat but the destination market buoyed the business. It was a bright spot in what was an otherwise a down weather year."
Skier visits declined 16.5 percent each in the Southeast and Pacific West regions. The Northeast region reported a 6.7 percent decline and the Midwest reported a 5.9 percent decline.
The nation's smaller ski areas closer to cities did better, Berry said. Those areas attract skiers and snowboarders who are newer to the sport and those looking for a convenient place within easy reach.
Colorado's destination resorts reported 3.8 million skier visits last season, up 2.3 percent in a year-over-year comparison, the best showing in a decade in this category, Ski Country said. Resorts include Aspen's ski areas, Telluride, Steamboat Springs and Crested Butte.
Smaller ski areas had 1.4 million skier visits, up 3.3 percent from the previous season. Arapahoe Basin, Eldora, Loveland and Sunlight resorts are included in this category.
The Front Range resorts, such as Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Winter Park and Vail, had 7.4 million skier visits, down 1.3 percent. Much of the blame for the decline was put on storms that snarled traffic along Interstate 70, the key route between metropolitan Denver and the ski areas.
The results boosted Colorado's market share to nearly 23 percent of the nationwide ski business, Ski Country said.
In the past five years, Colorado skier visits have climbed 7.7 percent, with the most growth - 13.1 percent - recorded by the smaller ski areas.
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Of coarse In Estes Park the town applied for and received FEMA disaster relief funds.
Because of the snow.
If you had a business in Estes Park you would have been better off on the moon.
Sixty miles from three million people!
Don't they all know we just built a new visitors center, just for them?
