The Lake Tahoe ski industry is a half billion dollar business according to an academic study by San Francisco State University.
Carried out by Patrick Tierney, chairman of the university’s recreation, parks and tourism department, the study assessed the 2013-14 ski season and focused on the nine largest ski resorts in the area.
It estimated skiers spent a total of $564.5 million with direct expenditure in ski resorts amounting to $427.7 million for skiing or skiing-related activities, such as lift tickets, food and hotel rooms.
This generated around $33 million in tax revenue for state and local governments.
"This economic boost is extremely important. As you would expect, in the winter the number of casual and gambling tourists drops off, compared to summer, so the timing of this spending in the Tahoe area couldn’t be better," Tierney said.
From research Tierney concluded that the Tahoe ski industry supports 8,290 full- and part-time jobs.
The study projected that even a very minimal increase in visitors – by as little as 2%, could add another $10 million into the local economy.
