Early estimates show almost a 7% drop in visits to the nation’s ski resorts from last year’s record number, despite record-setting visits in the Rocky Mountain region this past season, according to the National Ski Areas Association.
The estimated 54.8 million visits for the 2006-2007 season fell below not only the record of 58.9 million skier visits last year but also the average of 55.5 million visits over the last 10 seasons, the report noted.
A bright spot in the otherwise cloudy picture was the Rocky Mountain region, which appeared to have set a record of 20.9 million visits, up from last year’s record 20.7 million, the association said.
While the Rocky Mountain area saw plenty of blizzards, other parts of the country had a warm winter with below-average snowfall, noted the AP.
The Southeast and Pacific West each reported visitation declines of about 16.5%, the association said.
Strong spring snowfall helped the Northeast and Midwest, but the Northeast still reported an overall decline of 6.7% and the Midwest a decline of 5.9%.
Report by David Wilkening
