 |
|
|
|
To submit a news item send an email to press@mountainnews.com. The Industry Report is published by Mountain News Corp., which also publishes OnTheSnow.com Editor-In-Chief: - Craig Altschul Executive Editor: - Roger Leo President & Publisher: - Rob Brown Managing Director: - Chad Dyer Advertising Information: - sales@mountainnews.com Subscriptions:
Archives: - September 2009 - August 2009 - July 2009 - June 2009 - May 2009 - April 2009 - March 2009 - February 2009 - January 2009 - December 2008 - November 2008 - October 2008 Recent Posts: |
|
|
« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » New Breed of Seeker Arrives In Utah In Search of The Promised LandBy J.D. O'Connor  He actually said: "It is enough. This is the right place. Drive on," but that open-to-interpretation statement has been truncated over time. More than 150 years later, however, planeloads of modern-day seekers land each day at Salt Lake City International, ski bags in tow. The 2004/05 season saw a record 3.9 million skier days in Utah, a 12-percent increase over the previous season record - and 2005/06 is already on track to break that lofty number, according to recently installed Ski Utah President Nathan "Nato" Rafferty. "I haven't heard of a single cancellation,'' Rafferty said after getting in his share of morning runs at Deer Valley. "That Thanksgiving snow came at just the right time and conditions have been really good. We're running slightly ahead of average this year over last." And while that season-starting killer storm every resort owner and backcountry skier dreams of has yet to materialize, the faithful remain undeterred, drawn by the memory of "hero" seasons passed and a glossy $10 million ad campaign aimed at attracting more out-of-state visitors. "The snow is just okay, but everyone knows more is coming," said Lynn Takeoka of Bellingham, Washington. That kind of skier devotion is buttermilk for Rafferty, who points out that the number of skier visits nationwide has been flat over the last several years, with numbers hovering around 57 million. "Utah is bucking that trend with two consecutive record-breaking years," he said. And possibly a third, if early indicators continue to be borne out. "Through December 15 our Central Reservations is showing an 11 percent increase in revenue for winter booking over last year," said Dirk Beal, Director of Sales for Deer Valley Resort. "Last season was a record year for Central Reservations by a considerable margin. On the group side we are seeing an even bigger increase (33 percent) in revenue over last season - which was also a record year for us." Rafferty, Beal and others who spoke with Industry Report chalk up Utah's continued success in attracting compulsive skiers and boarders to a number of equally important factors. Number one, as in real estate, is: location, location, location. "We're lucky in that we have seven of our mountains within 30 miles of Salt Lake City Airport," Rafferty said. "Destination skiers can reach the mountain and be making runs an hour or so after landing. A lot of people forget about that." Another reason: good press. Utah ski areas continue to receive rave reviews. Readers of SKI magazine ranked Deer Valley Resort as the number one resort in North America, and Skiing magazine readers voted Alta/Snowbird the top resort in the United States for the fourth year running. Transworld Snowboarding gave Park City Mountain Resort the highest ranking for terrain parks for the second consecutive year. "The media has been very friendly," Rafferty said. "As a result, we see a wide spectrum of visitors - not just the high-end luxury traveler, not just hardcore skiers. We're lucky to have such a widespread appeal." And lastly: skier's have long memories - when they want to. "With the access we have to our mountains, with our dedication to the customer and with our snow - they just keep coming back," Rafferty said. "People have a strong memory of last year. When you have a season like that you're going to get a huge number of bookings the following year." And then some, it appears, as visitors cast off what some feared would be doubts about fuel prices or increased security at the local airport and head for their favorite mountain. "Deer Valley tends to attract a very affluent destination traveler," Beal said. "We are not seeing any impediments to bookings related to travel cost or security concerns." Bookings and early visitation has been solid at other resorts, despite balmy temperatures and the lack of a really significant snowfall. "Northern Utah has been blessed with enough snow to get most of the ski terrain open within the past couple of weeks and for the holiday season," said Bob Whitelaw, head of marketing and public relations at Brian Head Resort. "Southern Utah hasn't received as much snow as Northern Utah (and definitely not as much as last year) and we keep hoping the big winter storms are coming." Whitelaw said Brian Head has "had a lot of happy skiers over the past few weeks, due to the great weather and snow on some of the runs. Everybody is just waiting for some new snow and additional terrain to open." Alta has had 161 inches of snow so far this season, according to mountain spokesman Connie Marshall, and their Christmas bookings were strong. "Our Christmas shaped up to a very healthy booking pattern in the lodges," Marshall said. "There were a few rooms open, but not for the week-long stay." Similar reports have made Ski Utah's Rafferty a very happy man. "One of the things unique to us here in Utah that we all work so well together," he said. "We learned early that we are so much stronger with a united voice... and the success we have had and continue to have is proof positive of that." « Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » |
|
