The National Ski Areas Association said that skier visits at U.S. resorts were "down an estimated 1.5 million" or 2.8% this season "compared with the prior winter," according to the SUMMIT DAILY NEWS. A preliminary study showed that ski areas "tallied 53.3 million visits this year compared with 54.8 million visits" in '16-17. According to the NSAA, while the overall number was "in line with the 40-year average, this season produced the lowest amount of skier visits in seven seasons." In addition, it was the "third-worst season in 18 winters." A "savage winter in the Northeast region and low snowfall amounts early in the season in the southern and central Rocky Mountain region prevented the industry from boosting business overall." An NSAA spokesperson said that the Rocky Mountain region "was down" about 5%. Resorts in the Midwest and Southeast regions "logged gains this season" (SUMMIT DAILY NEWS, 5/6). Despite the decline, several resorts "set visitation records," including Wyoming's Jackson Hole, Whitefish and Bridger Bowl in Montana and Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho (AP, 5/7).
PERFECT MATCH: In Colorado, Scott Miller noted Burton Snowboards and the town of Vail have "become very good friends over the years." The key to "all this affection is the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships, held this year." While the number of unique visitors has "stayed roughly constant over the past three years, there's growth in other areas." While spectator numbers in Vail have been "relatively static, the event webcast and TV viewer numbers are growing." On the Red Bull Media Network -- a combination of web and social media channels -- viewership "exceeded 3.1 million this year, a 1.1 million-view increase" (VAIL DAILY, 5/6).
