Despite high unemployment and the tepid economy, US mountain resorts expect more meeting groups and individual travelers to heat up the winter business, report tourism officials.
“Three years into the Great Recession, we are seeing a continued growth in occupancy year over year,” Ralf Garrison, a Colorado-based director of a travel research company, told MeetingsFocus West.
Occupancies last winter from November through April in the Western US were up 6 percent, according to data from MTRIP, a travel research firm.
Occupancies could approach the 2007-08 season, according to Garrison.
But despite the higher numbers, meeting-goers remain value conscious, tourism officials say.
The prediction is that resorts trying to return to prices of yesteryear will have problems.
Room rates are also expected to remain flat this winter season, tourism officials say.
By David Wilkening
