Aspen aims to raise profile

Wednesday, 09 Oct, 2002 0

New Aspen Skiing Company senior vice president David Perry is planning to raise the profile of the resort and attract more budget customers.

Aspen has a reputation for attracting celebrities, but it is not widely known that the area has three other mountains and a huge adjacent skiing area in Snowmass.

Perry, who was appointed seven weeks ago, told TravelMole: “I am appalled that Aspen/Snowmass is not as renowned as it should be. It is the finest ski resort anywhere and we will compare favourably against anyone.”

Perry said it would only be able to attract more visitors by being competitive on price.

“We have to overcome our perception problems,” said Perry. “People perceive us as being the land of the rich and the filthy rich but we need to be competitive.

“Of course you can spend a lot of money if you want, but people don’t realise the range of options that we have. You can shop around for condos, get cheap flight tickets and get a 20% discount for buying a ski pass in advance. We need to promote that.”

Perry said the UK was Aspen’s top overseas market and accounted for up to 7,500 visitors a year.