Report: Skier visits up 12.5%

A substantial jump in prepurchased pass sales leading up to the current season fueled a double-digit gain in skier visits, Vail Resorts reported Monday.

In a company release, the resort operator said total skier visits were up 12.5% compared to last season through April 17, 2022. The reported ski season metrics are for Vail Resorts’ North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, and exclude metrics from the recentlyacquired Seven Springs Resorts in Pennsylvania and the company’s Australian ski areas.

Vail Resorts also reported that season-to-date total lift ticket revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up 19.4% compared to the prior year. Ski school revenue was also up 53%, dining revenue was up 73.2%, and retail/rental revenue for North American resort and ski area store locations was up 39% compared to the prior year.

“This year, challenging early season conditions persisted through the holiday period, but our results were strong from January through the remainder of the season,” said CEO Kirsten Lynch in a statement. “Our strong season pass sales heading into the season, which are the foundation of our advance commitment strategy, resulted in particularly strong destination visitation and were further supported by lift ticket sales at our Colorado and Utah resorts that exceeded our expectations.”

The average U.S. ski area was open for 112 days in 2020-21, up from 99 days in the 2019-20 season. And in 2021-22, many Vail Resorts properties experienced even longer seasons than in 2020-21.