Vail reports skier visits down 8% this season

Winter Wonderland: Park City on a Bluebird day. Photo: Park City Chamber/Bureau

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Vail Resorts reported skier visits were down by nearly 8% this season compared to the same time period last year. 

The comparative periods looked at the beginning of the ski season through April 14, 2024, and for the prior year period through April 16, 2023. The reported ski season metrics are for the company’s North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas.

The season-end results reflect a late-season surge, as skier visits were down by 9.7%  at the end of February.

The same report showed that lift ticket revenue was up 3.2%, ski school revenue was up 7%, and dining revenue was up 2.4%. Retail and rental revenue for North American resort and ski area store locations was also down just over 7%. 

Vail’s CEO, Kirsten Lynch, said the company was pleased with their overall season performance, especially given the unfavorable conditions across much of North America. 

“While visitation declined, our lift revenue increased driven by the growth in pass sales committed ahead of the season,” Lynch said. 

She added that while skier visits were down, there was strong growth in spending per visit in ski and ride schools, dining, and rental businesses compared to the same period last year. 

March and April visitation across resorts in western North America exceeded last year’s record levels as conditions improved toward the end of the season. 

Regarding the outlook for the 2024 fiscal year, Lynch said that even though late-season results improved, Vail expects to finish at or around the low end of projections. Lynch said this is primarily driven by poor performance at Whistler Blackcomb in March and April. 

“Our strong season pass sales, prior to the start of this season, greatly mitigated the impact of unfavorable conditions across our North American resorts for a large portion of the season,” Lynch said.

Specific skier visitation and spending statistics for Park City Mountain Resort are unavailable due to Vail’s policy to not share resort-specific numbers.