Skier visits were off nearly 10.7 percent from opening day until Dec. 31, 2011 at the 22 ski resorts that belong to Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA), according to figures released by the organization.
CSCUSA President and CEO Melanie Mills said that despite early snow, there was little snowfall in November and December, leading to slower visitation especially by in-state skiers at some ski areas.
That report followed news from Vail Resorts Inc., which does not report numbers to CSCUSA, that skier visits at its four Colorado and two California resorts were down 15 percent through New Year’s Day weekend as compared to last season.
Mills noted that the decline comes off of an exceptional 2010-11, when several Colorado resorts reached the 500-inch mark for snowfall, and we were skiing until the 4th of July. “We’ve got lots of the season still ahead including a bonus leap year ski day on February 29,” Mills said.
The Colorado Tourism Office took out a $50,000 full-page ad in the New York Times Jan. 22 advertising the arrival of a major snow storm and to remind skiers that months of skiing lay ahead. As of mid-January, CSCUSA’s 22 members had about 80 percent of their lifts open, servicing approximately 17,609 acres of terrain with several resorts 100 percent open or very close.
A skier visit represents a person participating in the sport of skiing or snowboarding for any part of one day at a mountain resort.
