For the first time in seven years, Colorado had a slight increase in out-of-state skiers, reported Rob Perlman, president and CEO, Colorado Ski County USA.
The out-of-state skiers represent more than 60% of the total skiers in the state, he said.
“In a challenging and highly competitive global tourism marketplace, Colorado, the leading sky state in the nation, once again illustrated why it is considered the premier winter destination for skiers and snowboarders from around the world,” he said.
Colorado had strong demand from traditional core destination markets such as Texas and California. Some non-traditional markets such as Alabama and Wyoming also were strong.
The numbers from Australia and New Zealand were also up, both increasing by 41%.
The ski season started out a slower pace than the previous season’s record start.
Less-than-normal snowfalls led to some skiers choosing other destinations.
“Along with the trend of shorter booking cycles, the word of warm weather definitely affects bookings,” Mr Perlman said.
The state hosted 11.2 million skiers this season.
That number was a slight decline over last year. But Mr Perlman said the start of the next season is less than 140 days away. “We are already seeing a boost in early bookings from key international and domestic markets for next season,” he said.
Report by David Wilkening
