Ski industry execs said last week at the Mountain
Travel Symposium in CO that the "highbrow image that has
lured many a skier in seasons past may come back to haunt
the country's priciest resorts," according to Sarah Chung of
the ASPEN TIMES. The Skiing Co. COO John Norton said that
Aspen's high day pass prices and "exclusive-brand image" may
be "scaring away potential guests." Norton: "We found our
image was a little over premium. We found people thought we
were completely out of reach. ... We still cost more, but we
don't cost qualitatively more." Norton "also conceded" that
as resorts' "repeat visitors age, some attention has to be
focused on ... a younger, less exclusive" demo. Norton:
"Our average guy is in his 40s, not his 30s or 20s. The
opportunity in future growth is in the echo baby boom and
that calls for a new approach." Intrawest Senior VP Ed
Pitoniak "agreed that the future market 'no question is in
the youth culture'" and said Vail Resorts' Breckenridge
resort had "so much success in having a great inventory of
affordable beds and a town that rocks. ... The core of our
strategy in the long run lies in having warm beds at
relatively low rates" (ASPEN TIMES, 4/7).