The 2016/17 ski season is officially the biggest ever based on skier days. The numbers are in and Utah’s ski resorts broke the record with 4,584,658. The tally was counted after Snowbird closed on Sunday, June 11th, which ended an eight-month long ski season for 2016/17.
According to Ski Utah in a press release, our resorts ended the year with a total of 4,584,658 million skier days, up 2.85 percent from the previous record of 4,457,575 during the 2015-16 season. This year’s number represents an 8.35 percent increase vs. Utah’s five-year average of 4,231,276.
Nationally, skier days were up from 52.8 million to 54.7 million, a 3.7 percent increase from last season. According to the RRC survey, visits were variable by region with a strong rebound in visits from the Northeast, Southeast and Pacific Northwest. Declines were seen in the Pacific Southwest, Rocky Mountain and Midwest. But even though as a whole the Rocky Mountain region declined, Utah was an outlier and set another historical skier day record for the second year in a row.
The best thing about these record-breaking numbers is the resultant economic impact, which increased from $1.17 billion in 2014-15 to $1.43 billion; in part due to the larger volume of visits this season as well as the uptick in per skier visit expenditures, which rose from $276 in 2014-15 to $296 this season.
“Tourism has emerged as one of the key drivers in Utah’s diverse economy, with travelers spending $8.17 billion in 2015, and contributing $1.15 billion in total state and local taxes,” says Vicki Varela, Managing Director of Tourism, Film and Global Branding. ”State sales tax revenue generated by travelers helps fund a variety of Utah priorities, including education, public safety, health and human services, road construction and maintenance.”
From Southern Utah to the north, snow totals were up significantly. Initially there was a slow start but as winter progressed, an abundance of powder fell across the state. The snowfall total winner this year was Brighton Resort, which reported 632 inches of snowfall this season and over 200 inches in the month of January alone.
“On the heels of a record breaking year last year, this continued growth shows Utah’s winter sports industry is thriving,” says Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty. “While there is still room to grow, we could not have asked for better results this year. Credit can be evenly distributed between Utah’s 14 resorts, the tremendous support from the Utah Office of Tourism and cooperation from Mother Nature.”
Here’s a breakdown of Utah statewide skier days for the past 10 years:
2016 – 17
4,584,658 (1st Place)
2015 – 16
4,457,575 (2nd Place)
2014 – 15
3,946,762 (9th Place)
2013 – 14
4,148,573 (5th Place)
2012 – 13
4,018,812 (7th Place)
2011 – 12
3,825,090 (10th Place)
2010 – 11
4,247,510 (4th Place)
2009 – 10
4,070,822 (6th Place)
2008 – 09
3,972,984 (8th Place)
2007 – 08
4,249,190 (3rd Place)