The recent economic downturn has effected industries across the globe. One of these is the ski industry in Colorado. Usually a haven for wealthy skiers coming from all over the U.S. and the world, Colorado saw a huge drop in skier visits and occupancy this past winter season. The number of skier visits was down 5% in the 2008-2009 season, and occupancy was down 16.3%. Ski resorts tried to bring in more customers though, decreasing accommodations rates by 9%, but the bad economy just is not cooperating.
Interestingly, Northeastern ski resorts breezed through this past season seeing significant profits. What is the cause for this discrepancy within the U.S. ski industry? There are a number of causes. Primarily, Colorado ski areas are destination resorts, and much of their revenue comes from traveling skiers, who stay at their hotels, buy their food, and purchase daily lift tickets. With an economic downturn, Colorado ski resorts are a very expensive vacation, especially with the rising cost of travel. It is much more economical for families to stay home by their local ski mountain and buy season passes and bring bag lunches. There are no airline tickets to pay for, no $10 hamburgers at the cafeteria, and no daily lift tickets that cost upwards of $80.
Because Colorado ski resorts rely heavily on vacationers, they lose the most in a poor economy. But small, local ski resorts, such as those on the east coast, benefit from this situation. Not only do these ski areas rely more on local populations for their revenue, but they also lose less customers to the bigger ski resorts out west because families can't afford big vacations in a slumping economy.
It will be interesting to see how this coming season fares for Colorado and other western ski destinations. The economy has improved somewhat from the beginning of last year's season, so there will most likely be an increase in skier visits from the 2008-2009 season, but I don't think any records will be broken. As for the east, families may have realized this season that they don't need to go out west every year, and that staying home makes the most sense, monetarily. I expect eastern resorts will see increased skier visits along with Colorado and the rest of the ski industry.
Here's food for thought. Do you think if this trend were to keep up that resort-type ski out West would try, in any way, to de-resortify their slopes? Perhaps powder and gondolas will be a thing of the past, and we'll start seeing more teens and arcade games in the "5-star" lodges.
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