LOW SNOW IMPACTS SKI AND SNOWBOARD VISITS; LESSON PARTICIPATION AND RIDER STATS STAY STEADY By Peter Kray, PSIA-AASI Lead Content Officer
he National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) reported that U.S. ski areas tallied an estimated 53.6 million skier and snowboarder visits during the 2014-15 season — down 5.2 percent from last season’s 56.5 million total, and
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down 3.8 percent from the fi ve-year industry average of 55.7 million skier visits. Despite a stronger economy, weather challenges across the country contributed to this drop in visits. Nationally, snowfall was 28 percent below average this season — particularly on the West Coast. Frigid temperatures in the Midwest and the East, along with sizeable snowstorms in the Northeast, impacted the ability of skiers and snowboarders to even get to many ski areas. “T e good news is that despite the
vagaries of Mother Nature, ski areas have adapted and responded with dramatic
the critical Rocky Mountain region were well above the region’s fi ve-year average. Similarly, both the Northeast Region and the Southeast Region had season totals that surpassed their fi ve-year averages. While the three regions were each just slightly below last season’s skier visits, both the Rocky Mountain region (where Colorado set an all-time record of 12.6 million visits in 2013-14), and New England (which also had a very strong season in 2013-14) performed well despite weather challenges. T e Northeast region was barely off last
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014-15 SEASON
Q Downhill snowsports visits declined 5.2 percent to 53.6 million visits
Q Visitation nationally varied by month Q October/November: Up 7 percent Q December: down 4 percent Q January: Up 12 percent Q February: Down 10 percent Q March: Down 13 percent Q April: down 28 percent
Q Number of operating resorts holds steady at 470
Q Snowfall down 28.3 percent nationally, the second lowers in 24 years of available records
Q Snowfall nationally was down in every month from 12-season averages
Q Average days open dipped by 5.1 percent nationally
Q More resorts closed late than early
expansions and investments in energy- effi cient snowmaking,” said Michael Berry, president of NSAA. “Even in a season where snowfall is off , our guests still get an incredible skiing or riding experience.” In another positive note, fi gures from
76 | 32 DEGREES • FALL 2015
Q Overnight visitation accounted for 51.7 percent of visits, up from 48.8 percent in 2014-15
Q International visitation increased to 6.2 percent of total national visits, up from 5.6 percent in 2014-15
Q Season pass unit sales increased 5.9 percent, while average visits per passholder dropped 14.1 percent
Q Lesson volumes increased, while lessons-to-visits ratio held steady
Q Snowboarding participation, as a proportion of total visits, held steady at 27.2 percent.
For more information – includ-
ing how to order a copy of NSAA’s Kottke End of Season Survey – go to
http://www.nsaa.org/media/242270/ Kottke_press_release.pdf.
season’s strong skier visits numbers by 0.8 percent, and the Southeast region was also down slightly by 1.4 percent. T e Rocky Mountain region was down slightly from last season by 2.1 percent. T e Midwest region, which suff ered from brutal cold
spells, dropped 9.3 percent from last season. T e Pacifi c Southwest was down 6.4 percent, and the Pacifi c Northwest fell by 36.3 percent over the previous season, declines driven largely by weather. T e survey also provided an overview of other key callouts of interest to snow pros, including overall lesson volume and snowboard participation.
LESSONS DOWN 3.7 PERCENT A total of 110 areas provided data on total lesson volumes for both 2014-15 and 2013- 14. At these resorts, total lessons given were down 3.7 percent (to an average of 20,564 lessons per area), while total visits at the same resorts fell by a similar 3.6 percent. As a result, the lesson participation rate (or share of visits which included a lesson) held relatively steady at 8.1 percent each season. Lesson
volume was down almost
everywhere, with the greatest decreases in the Midwest (-22.3 percent) and Pacifi c Northwest (-15.2 percent), followed by the Southeast (-7.4 percent), Pacifi c Southwest (-2.7 percent), and Rocky Mountains (-0.4 percent), with a slight uptick in the Northeast (up 0.1 percent).
SNOWBOARDING STEADY AT 27 PERCENT Nationally, snowboarding participation held steady at 27.2 percent this season, identical to last season, and halting several seasons of ongoing decline. By region, resort operators estimate that snowboarding participation declined in the Pacifi c Northwest (down 3.3
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