Colorado ski areas set a new visitor record during the 2021-22 ski season
Visitation to Colorado ski areas surpassed 14 million in 2021-22 and industry giant Vail Resorts posted the best three months ever in early 2022
The Colorado Sun
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
The ski industry has bounced back from COVID.
Vail Resorts made $372.6 million in February, March and April this year. That’s about $100 million more than the same quarter last year, $220 million more than the same three months in 2020 and $80 million more in net income than the company reported for those critical three months in 2019.
So the final months of the 2021-22 ski season for North America’s largest resort operator were the best the company ever had, with the highest third quarter net income it has ever posted.
Colorado Ski Country, which represents 22 of 28 ski areas in the state, on Thursday announced its member resorts, along with estimates from Vail Resorts’ five Colorado ski areas, likely posted 14 million skier visits, setting a record. Visitation to the trade group’s resorts climbed 14% above the previous season and inched past the statewide 13.8 million record set in 2018-19.
It wasn’t a rosy start to the season, with weak snowfall and labor shortages challenging resort operators. But well-timed storms boosted skier traffic in January, February and March.
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Colorado Ski Country boss Melanie Mills said in a statement that “business has recovered from the worst impacts of the pandemic.” That’s a milestone, considering the angst when resorts suddenly shuttered in April 2020 as the first waves of a prolonged pandemic swamped the world.
Read more via The Colorado Sun.