Utah's skier numbers fell 6.5 percent last winter

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Even though Utah's skier-day numbers were down 6.5 percent last season from 2007-08, the season was highlighted by plenty of powder, such as this mid-February day when Braxton Tissot, 15, of upstate N.Y., hurtled through freshly fallen snow at Powder Mountain.

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The final tally on Utah's ski season came as little surprise, given the obvious toll exacted by the worldwide recession.

What is surprising is that Utah ski and tourism officials could end up a little upbeat despite the downturn and a snowless Thanksgiving weekend that contributed to a 6.5 percent decline in skier days for the 2008-09 season.

It could have been worse.

As it was, Utah resorts attracted 3,972,984 visitors last season, the first winter in six years in which a record was not set.

Still, the number was big enough to make 2008-09 Utah's fourth-best season ever, prompting this observation Wednesday by Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah, marketing arm for the state's 13 active resorts:

"Despite the global economy, Utah's ski industry is pleased with its performance. Skiers and snowboarders possess an incredible fervor for the sport and are committed to annual participation. Our industry is optimistic about the future."

Utah's dropoff surpassed the national average, which fell 5.5 percent, to 57.1 million (from the 2007-08 record of 60.1 million). But it was slightly less than the 7.2 percent drop in the Rocky Mountain region, which draws more skiers than any other part of the country (19.9 million).

That was an important statistic to Utah Office of Tourism Managing Director Leigh von der Esch.

"The most important thing for us was we trended higher than other states in the Intermountain

Von der Esch also was gratified that her office's tourism campaign apparently boosted Utah's total by almost 500,000 skiers, according to market research by an independent consultant.

"The [tourism] board approved additional money in January to hit the TV market again -- because we had a late snow season," she said. "The decision was a good one."

Utah's performance was worse than Colorado, which fell 5.5 percent overall. Four resorts operated by Vail Resorts Inc. had a 3.5 percent drop to 5.2 million skier days, while 22 other resorts within the Colorado Ski Country USA umbrella fell 6.9 percent to 6.79 million.

But Utah fared better than three northern Intermountain states -- Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. They declined 9 percent, to 3.4 million.

Although Ski Utah never breaks down individual resort results, Rafferty said those dependent on destination visitors took a bigger hit than ones that draw largely from nearby metropolitan areas.

Those resorts -- primarily Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons -- also reported shorter lead times before visitors booked their stays, evidence to Rafferty that "consumers were more cautious with discretionary spending and making sure they secured the 'best bang' available for their buck."

He also suggested that Rocky Mountain resorts lost some early season business when ample snow fell in the Northeast, encouraging "many snowriders to choose resorts closer to home in an effort to cut back on travel expenses."

Parker Riehle, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association, reported last week that its resorts had 4.1 million skier visits in 2008-09.

Lower gas prices this past winter also influenced that result, von der Esch said, citing a conversation she had in October with Vermont's tourism director. "He said 'I have access to 80 million people within five hours' driving time. Every time gas goes down 10 cents, there's a direct benefit to skiing in Vermont.' "

Figures compiled for the National Ski Areas Association showed that New England attracted 9.8 million skier visits, down 3.2 percent.

The worst results were in the Pacific Northwest (down 15.8 percent), while Tahoe region fell 9.4 percent. Resorts in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey had a 3.5 percent increase to 7.8 million.

mikeg@sltrib.com