Well, Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and unfortunately it snowed the entire weekend, which made for miserable barbecues and the beginning of the summer festivities. But today the sun is out and supposed to be sunny and warm for much of the next week; with the occasional snowstorm of course. But what's one to expect? It is only barely June.
Ski Utah announced last week that this last ski season was the second best in Utah's history with about 4.2 million skier days. The record year was 2007: a very snowy year and just prior to the economic downturn. That season we saw 4,249,000 skier days. Deer Valley Resort said it was their 2nd best season ever in terms of skier days and they noticed that visitors were spending more on lodging and lessons. Park City Mountain Resort reported similar trends with revenue from lessons, rental equipment and the restaurants being up from last year. Along with an increase in consumer confidence we also attribute the increase in skier days and skier spending to an abundant snow season. Snowfall for the 2011 season was up 34% over the previous season. What was more significant however was that the snow came early this year with resorts being almost entirely open prior to December 18. Also interesting was that since 2002, the year of the Salt Lake Olympics, skier days in Utah have increased 41%. I find that very interesting and a validation of just how much publicity the Olympics bring to our resort. While the resorts have certainly made numerous improvements in the nine years since Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics, that alone does not account for this significant of an increase in skier days. The worldwide exposure that Utah received from hosting the 2002 Winter Olympic Games has paid off in increased business many times over. Often, people are concerned about the cost of hosting Olympic games, this is proof that it is money well spent.
The arrival of June signals the start of our summer season with numerous concerts, food and wine festivals and a wide variety of outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, golf, fishing, and so on. So, plan your vacation and discover just how refreshing summers in the mountains can be.
