RSS
Home
National Ski Areas Association: Season's skier visit estimate totals 57.1 million
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
While the overall industry numbers were far from awesome,
Loveland Ski Area near Denver did enjoy a record season for
skier visits in 2008-09. Photo: Eric Wagnon
Figure shows 5.5 percent drop
The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) released its preliminary estimate of 57.1 million skier visits for the 2008-09 season, making it the fifth-best season on record. A skier visit is defined as one person, either a skier or snowboarder, visiting a ski area for all or part of a day or night. Following a record season of 60.5 million visits in 2008-09, this past season's total represented a 5.5 percent decline.
Rough year for destination resorts
Destination resorts took the biggest hit from the nation's economic woes, but resorts close to metropolitan areas fared relatively well. As evidence, Vail Resorts, highly dependent on destination travelers, reported a 6.2 percent skier visit decrease through April 12, but Loveland Ski Area, frequented by nearby Denver visitors, had a record year for skier visits.
Ski industry shows flat overall trend
While the 2008-09 season skier-visit figure did drop significantly from the previous year, the season's estimate was actually a 0.8 percent increase from the 10-year average. The skier-visit totals have stayed in a rather narrow range during that time. In fact, the most recent number of 57.1 million was almost identical to the 2000-01 figure of 57.2 million.
The 2008-09 estimates were released in conjunction with the NSAA Convention and Tradeshow, May 13-16, in Marco Island, Fla. The NSAA is the trade association for ski-area owners and operators, representing 326 alpine resorts.
For more on the recession and the ski industry, click here.
| Season | Northeast | Southeast | Midwest | Rockies | Pacific | Total |
| 2008-09 | 13.8 | 5.62 | 7.41 | 19.79 | 10.54 | 57.1 |
| 2007-08 | 14.1 | 5.2 | 8.1 | 21.3 | 11.4 | 60.5 |
| 2006-07 | 11.8 | 4.9 | 7.2 | 20.8 | 10.3 | 55.1 |
| 2005-06 | 12.5 | 5.8 | 7.8 | 20.8 | 11.9 | 58.8 |
| 2004-05 | 13.7 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 19.6 | 10.6 | 56.9 |
| 2003-04 | 12.9 | 5.6 | 7.8 | 18.9 | 11.9 | 57.0 |
| 2002-03 | 14.0 | 5.8 | 8.3 | 18.7 | 10.9 | 57.6 |
| 2001-02 | 12.2 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 18.1 | 12.1 | 54.4 |
| 2000-01 | 13.9 | 5.5 | 7.6 | 19.1 | 11.1 | 57.2 |
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
- Alta Ski Area, Utah
- Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, Colo.
- Aspen Highlands, Colo.
- Colorado Ski Country USA
- Deer Valley Resort, Utah
- Les Deux Alpes, France
- Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Calif.
- Nordic Mountain, Wis.
- Park City Mountain Resort, Utah
- Portillo, Chile
- Powder Mountain, Utah
- Snowbasin Resort, Utah
- Snowbird Ski Resort, Utah
- Solitude Mountain Resort, Utah
- Squaw Valley USA, Calif.
- Whitefish Mountain Resort, Mont.
- Winter Park Resort, Colo.
- Top 10 Ski Chairlifts in the Western United States
- Best of the Rest Ski Chairlifts
- Lindsey Vonn, Ski Racer
- Kristi Leskinen, Freestyle Skier
- Kylie Minogue Concert at Ischgl, Austria
- National Ski Areas Assoc. Award Winners
- El Nino's Favorite Ski Resorts
- Winter Park Ski Train
- TELUS Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler
- Mount Redoubt Eruption in Alaska
- SkiingExaminer on Twitter
- Skiing Examiner Fan Page on Facebook
- Albany Skiing Examiner
- Boston Skiing Examiner
- Colorado Ski Resort Examiner
- Denver Skiing Examiner
- Denver Ski Instruction Examiner
- Denver Skiing Lifestyle Examiner
- Denver Telemark Examiner
- Salt Lake City Outdoor Recreation Examiner
- Seattle Snowboarding Examiner
- Spokane Ski and Snow Report Examiner
- Outdoor Recreation Gear Examiner
